Diversity

Looking to get more involved with AHLA? There are many opportunities for you to share your expertise or develop your skills with the Association. If you are looking to speak, write, mentor, or contribute to AHLA's Public Interest activities, there is a place for you. New opportunities are posted regularly as they become available. Go to www.healthlawyers.org/volunteer.

​The Association has a Diversity+Inclusion Council, which is a Special Committee of the Board, whose purpose is to serve as a resource to AHLA in achieving its goal of increasing the diversity of its members and leaders. The Council:

Advises and recommends programs/initiatives on ways in which AHLA can better recruit and retain members from a broad spectrum of diverse backgrounds;
Suggests initiatives to encourage members from diverse backgrounds to become more involved in the Association's activities (e.g., to speak at in-person programs, to author articles or publications, to seek positions of leadership);
Examines whether AHLA should collaborate with other organizations with diverse professional memberships; and
Identifies ways in which AHLA can measure its success in these endeavors.

It is composed of up to 10 AHLA members who plan, facilitate, and host numerous events including the following: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion Receptions; webinars; discussion breakfasts and educational sessions at Programs; and networking receptions at area law schools. The Council also is responsible for preparing and distributing the annual demographic survey to the membership.

If you are interested in learning more about these activities, contact Kerry Hoggard at khoggard@healthlawyers.org. Council members can be contacted below.

As part of AHLA's initiative to cultivate diversity among attorneys practicing health law, the Association provides opportunities for talented law students of diverse backgrounds so they can learn more about this segment of the legal profession. 

The eight-week internship provides interns numerous networking opportunities with leading health care attorneys, attendance at the Association's Annual Meeting where top-notch CLE sessions on the latest in health and life sciences law are offered, and various legal research/writing projects for AHLA's Professional Resources and Public Interest departments. 

One of the most frequent observations that former interns note about AHLA's Diversity Internship program is how the experience has opened their eyes to the wide range of career options available to them as aspiring health care attorneys.

Diversity in Health Law - Summer Internship

Qualifications

• Applicant's academic, extracurricular, and/or community accomplishments must clearly demonstrate a long-standing and genuine interest in health care law.
• Rising 3L at an ABA-accredited law school
• Law student is of diverse background
• Excellent writing, editing, research, and analytical skills

Duration of Internship
Eight weeks. Preferred start date late May 2018. Preferred end date early or mid-August 2018.

Stipend
Nominal monetary stipend will be provided throughout the eight week period (paid bi-monthly). This payment is based on an approximate 30 hour work week.

Duties
Assist Vice President and Senior Managing Editor of AHLA's Professional Resources Department on editing/writing assignments regarding:

• The Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law, including cite-checking;
• The Health Lawyers Weekly, Health Lawyers Weekly, including interviewing leaders and writing special profiles; and
• Practice Group newsletters and member briefings.

Further duties include:

• Monitoring and identifying legal developments in health law;
• Attending Member Publication meetings; and
• Assisting Senior Legal Editor of Professional Resources Department on Public Interest resources, developing and/or implementing other Public Interest initiatives as necessary.

Benefits
Aside from writing, researching, and editing, the law student intern will also:

• Attend networking lunches with leading health law attorneys in the Washington, D.C. area who practice in a variety of different practice settings, including small and large firms, solo practice, government agencies, corporate/in-house, and compliance.
• Attend the AHLA Annual Meeting, a major networking opportunity with health law attorneys from around the country while attending select CLE programs and other programs related to the conference.

Application Deadline
Monday, February 5, 2018. To apply for this internship, please address your formal cover letter and resume to Cynthia Conner, Vice President of Publishing. Please email both documents to Katherine Wone at kwone@healthlawyers.org. Only candidates chosen for an interview will be notified. No phone calls, please.