The Health Law Student Community

The Student Health Law Association (SHLA) is a student-run organization for law students interested in health-related legal disciplines. It has been awarded “Organization of the Year” by the Student Bar Association in the past for coordinating numerous student-centered activities, such as:

• An annual mentor-mentee program in which students are paired with practicing Atlanta health law attorneys
• Participation in the Annual National Health Law Moot Court Competition  
• Speaker programs on timely topics for law students
• Volunteer opportunities with the Health Law Partnership, blood drives, toiletry drives, and other local volunteer programs

SHLA co-sponsors activities with the Center for Law, Health & Society to foster formal and informal exchanges among its members and with faculty, alumni, and professional organizations in the health care field.

Please explore our Web site to learn more about our organization and its many activities. Georgia State College of Law students are welcome to join our Google group, which is the source of all student updates. SHLA members receive emails through this Google group, which include updates on getting involved, career opportunities, and staying informed about upcoming SHLA events.

About SHLA

SHLA members are entitled to a variety of benefits, including:

• Access to membership in the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA). SHLA is a student group member of AHLA and receives enhanced benefits for its law student members through this affiliation.
• Participation in the SHLA mentor-mentee program, which pairs law students with practicing attorneys in the health law field. The mentor-mentee program's primary goal is to give current law students greater exposure to the actual practice of law, thereby deepening and enriching their substantive legal education.
• Automatic membership upon graduation in the Graduate Health Law Network, a network of Georgia State Law graduates involved in the health law field.

Activities

Members are invited to participate in a variety of activities, ranging from the predominantly professional to the purely social in nature. These activities will include: gatherings with current students and graduates to learn about career or educational opportunities in the health law field; presentations on timely topics of current interest in health care law, policy, and ethics; and other interesting activities relating to health law. Just a few examples of past speaker programs include:

• Annual Bioethics at the Movies Series 
• Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Case: Plaintiff's Case and Defendant's Case 
• Patient Safety and Medical Errors 
• Public Health Initiatives in the Wake of September 11th
• Medical Malpractice: The Physician’s Perspective
• Should Employers Have to Pay for their Employees' Unhealthy Lifestyles?
• Healthcare Advocacy
• Update: The Progress of Healthcare Delivery System Reform
• Health Law Career Panels 

Officers

2011 - 2012 SHLA Officers:

President: Sarah Ketchie (2L)
Sarah Ketchie graduated from the University of Georgia in 2010 with a B.S. in Biology, where she had the opportunity to work in a laboratory for four years at UGA's Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. During her first summer at GSU College of Law, Ms. Ketchie interned at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Technology Transfer Office, and currently works as a law clerk for a small firm in Atlanta. This summer, she has the privilege to work with the Georgia Hospital Association and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta as a Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys Fellow.

Vice President: Evelyn Clark (2L)
Evelyn Clark is a 2L who chose Georgia State Law specifically for its health law program. As a Public Health major at Johns Hopkins University, and after her work in the United States Congress and as the grassroots advocacy program coordinator for the American Academy of Opthalmology, she decided to study health policy. She considers coming to Georgia State one of the best decisions she has ever made and continues to look forward to the vast health law course offerings each semester.

Treasurer: Scott DeLay (2L)
Scott DeLay is a member of the class of 2013 at Georgia State Law. Following his studies in International Affaird at the University of Georgia, he attended GSU Law and jointed SHLA to explore the roles attorneys play in today's healthcare industry. Mr. DeLay has worked for a private firm in his hometown of Dalton, GA as well as the Health Law Parternships's Legal Services Clinic here at Georgia State University.

Event Coordinators: Chelsea Murphy (3L) and Katrina Carmichael (2L)
Chelsea Murphy completed her undergraduate nursing degree at the University of Georgia and at the Medical College of Georgia, earning a B.S. in Nursing. Prior to attendind law school, she worked as an ER nurse. Currently, Ms. Murphy continues to work part-time as an ER nurse and part-time as a law clerk for a malpractice firm. She has an interest in health law liability and policy development.

Katrina Carmichael is a full-time 2L at GSU. Ms. Carmichael holds a B.F.A in Theater Arts from Boston University and an M.A. in Professional Writing from Kennesaw State University. Before entering law school, she worked as a college English instructor and special needs tutor. Having always had a fascination with medicine (but never an aptitude for science), she developed an interest in the field of health law, wishing to combine her love of tort law, legislative policy, and health.

Community Outreach: Leanna Jordan (2L)
Leanna Jordan, a New York native, attended Emory University for undergraduate work where she obtained her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. Ms. Jordan is currently a second-year law student in the J.D./M.S.H.A. program at Georgia State Law.

Secretary: Gregory Fosheim (1L)
Greg Fosheim earned a B.A. in Biology from Luther College, and an M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Emory University. Prior to law school, he was a microbiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, specializing in healthcare-associated infections. Mr. Fosheim's health law interests include medical malpractice and healthcare regulations.

Editor: Leah Murphy (1L)
Leah Murphy earned a B.A. degree in Political Science and Public Policy from George Washington University. She has worked for numerous political action committees and non-profit organizations in Washington, D.C. Ms. Murphy spent the past year as an AmeriCorps VISTA Project Coordinator, working on American Indian reservations in the Southwest and helping Tribes develop new healthcare systems and treatment facilities. Her health law interests include healthcare industry regulation and legislative policy.

Carver Mentor Program Coordinator: Megan Daugherty (3L)
Megan Daugherty has a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Tech. She has served as SHLA President, Secretary, and Carver Mentor Program Coordinator, and has interned with the Georgia Hospital Association, the CDC Office of General Counsel, and Justice Nahmias on the Georgia Supreme Court. She hopes to pursue a career focused on healthcare regulations and policy.

Information regarding elections for next year's officers will be released to all SHLA members during the spring semester.