Florida Doctor here / Best source of law info / friends Forum

[TheDoc]

Hello there!

I’m a new doctor in Florida. Getting started, I realized there are so many rules and regulations, it so hard to navigate this laws, especially when’s it open to interpretation. Anyways, I don’t have any lawyer friends so I was wondering if anyone would be inserted in “pen pals.” Maybe if you have any medical questions and such, I could help you out especially if you are in Florida.

Also, what’s the best way to learn how the law works, (especially the court system)? I wished I had taken a law class but never wanted to compete with other law students for an “A” back in undergrad –which I now regret. Is there an overview video somewhere? I wish to know what is your go to information source as a law student, maybe to look up cases - pacer? Do you just look at state statues on the state’s website?
In the medical realms us doctors use, Uptodate, Epocrates and Medscape. It helps explain the treatment and doses for the disease.

Thanks for the info guys!

[nick417]

This question appears to be a perfect hypo for PR classes. How many ethics violations would this create haha.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Keep in mind no one here is allowed to give you legal advice.

[zot1]

I want to help you, but I can't help but think, what would you say if someone asked you if you could explain briefly how to perform a surgery? Yes, I know I'm being over dramatic here. The thing is that lawyers spend three years learning and honing the skill of figuring out how the law works--and even then, they continue to do this once in practice. And it seems to me you're hoping to learn how this works in a brief email/letter exchange.

We use resources but that depends on so many things... For example, if you need to research the law, you could use westlaw or lexis, which are very expensive. However, you need to know how to research things and understand what you find and how that connects with other caselaw. I can tell you there are practicing attorneys who still don't know how to research properly.

If you're drafting a contract, you would use a sample from the office you work in or from a colleague. The problem is that the sample is just the beginning, then you use your legal knowledge to finish drafting. There are no resources for that than the years of law school and practice.

These are just a couple of many examples. A brief explanation or list of resources will not help you.

If what you're asking for is someone to exchange legal and medical services with, I'd be surprised if someone takes you up on that. As it has been mentioned, there are several ethical issues implicated with that. But hey, there are shady people in every profession so you might get lucky and find someone willing to do it.

[CanadianWolf]

Seminars designed for physicians should be available to you--for a fee--by your local, state or other medical association.
If interested in serving as an expert medical witness, a group out of Naples offers seminars for a fee. Unfortunately, I cannot find the pamphlets sent to me.

[Fed_Atty]

Wikipedia is a pretty good starting page for general things like how courts work etc. Also most courts have pretty good online resources. At least in federal court they have a guide for those proceeding pro se (without an attorney). I am relatively confident that your insurer would provide you with an attorney in the event of a real claim.