University of Pittsburgh
October 7, 2007

Pitt and American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics to Sponsor Health Law Student Conference and Job Fair Oct. 19

"Taking the Health Law Career Path: Health Law Student Conference and Job Fair" will feature speaker Donna Gerson, author of "Choosing Small, Choosing Smart: Job Search Strategies for Lawyers in the Small Firm Market" The conference is open to law students from across the country
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PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh School of Law and the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics (ASLME) will sponsor a conference for law students Oct. 19 titled "Taking the Health Law Career Path: Health Law Student Conference and Job Fair" in the Barco Law Building's Teplitz Memorial Courtroom and various classrooms, 3900 Forbes Ave., Oakland.

The conference, beginning at 8:45 a.m. and open to law students from across the country, is aimed at those interested in pursuing careers in health law in settings other than large law firms.

Donna Gerson, career consultant and author of "Choosing Small, Choosing Smart: Job Search Strategies for Lawyers in the Small Firm Market" (National Association for Law Placement, 2001), will be the featured speaker.

Director of Career Planning and Placement in Pitt's law school from 1994 to 2001, Gerson now works as a freelance writer and contributing editor to the American Bar Association's (ABA) "Student Lawyer" magazine. A lawyer, Gerson has practiced in both midsized and small law firms. She serves as a pro bono attorney for the Neighborhood Legal Services Association. She is a member of the ABA, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Conference topics include:

o What do health lawyers do?;

o How to contact prospective employers?;

o Who does health law in government, trades, nonprofits, and firms?;

o Starting your own firm;

o Nontraditional jobs for health lawyers; and

o Telecommuting.

Among the organizations to be represented by speakers are UPMC, University Hospitals Health System of Cleveland, U.S. Attorneys Office, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Pennsylvania Department of Health, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Psychological Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Respironics Corporation, New York State Technology Enterprise Corp., Pennsylvania Health Law Project, and the Children's National Medical Center.

For more information, contact Alan Meisel, Pitt professor of law and Dickie, McCamey and Chilcote Professor of Bioethics, at 412-648-1384, or Ben Moulton, executive director of ASLME, at 617-262-4990.

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10/8/07/tmw