Case Health-Law Forum

[hotdoglaw]

Hey,

I recently received a $30K Health-Medicine scholarship from Case Western for my interest in Health Law. I was wondering if anyone knows if Case's Health Law program is any good. I'm sure there are many interesting classes relating to these things, but do they translate into real opportunities in the field? I know Case ranks 5th for Health-Law, but don't know if these sorts of rankings mean anything or how they are determined.

[hotdoglaw]

!

[kk88]

I received the same scholarship and plan to attend. It is a strong program but still a regional school. I plan to practice in Ohio or Michigan so that isn't so much a problem for me but depending on where you want to practice it might not be such a good place to be. The staff seems really friendly and enthusiastic, and the dual-degree options are kind of nice if you are in to that sort of thing. Case devotes a lot of resources to the health law program which is, in my opinion, the best reason to attend over other schools.

I chose Case because it seemed a good balance between overall ranking/scholarship money/my region/health law ranking. The "number one" school for health law, St. Louis University, is ranked over all at 94th and is in an unappealing region- competition from 19th Washington University in St. Louis. Even with the supposedly better medical law program at St. Louis I still feel I'd lose out to grads from the better school in the job market.

Ultimately, visit if you can and see if you like the school, staff, and Cleveland. Good luck making your choice!

[hotdoglaw]

I hear ya. I guess I'm wondering if enthusiasm and resources actually translates into opportunities. Also, I've never been to Cleveland, but plan on doing so soon. I think that will play a large role though, determining if it is really the post-industrial wasteland of my nightmares...

[kittenmittons]

How far does the rep for Case's health program go in Singapore?

[hotdoglaw]

Case has a strong alumni base in Singapore. In fact, over 38% of grads practice in Singapore and 74% of those with a concentration in health practice in Singapore. Some people call Case the Harvard of Singapore.

[kk88]

I hear ya. I guess I'm wondering if enthusiasm and resources actually translates into opportunities. Also, I've never been to Cleveland, but plan on doing so soon. I think that will play a large role though, determining if it is really the post-industrial wasteland of my nightmares...

For job opportunities, supposedly Case grads are preferred over Cleveland Marshall (Cleveland State's law school) for jobs in northeastern Ohio. Of course northeastern Ohio is a pretty restrictive area and even in the state at large Case plays second to OSU. Still, doing health law is nice since it is one of the few fields with growth potential. Case is located by one of the biggest medical centers in the country, Cleveland Clinics, as well as the University Hospital. I've been told many health law graduates find jobs there and a quick scan of their jobs websites seems to show them hiring lawyers even in the recession.

I figure that even if the economy doesn't recover by 2013 medical law might not be as effected by it as other fields and at the very least I'll be in a little less debt with the scholarship and low cost of living in Cleveland.

As for the area, it isn't quite as terrible as I initially thought. The area around the law school, at least, is fairly nice and the neighborhoods of Cleveland Heights are kind of fun. When you visit check out Coventry for the area most of the students hang out in and many live in. If you haven't seen the youtube video "hastily made Cleveland tourism video" and the sequel look them up- it'll give you a good indication of the sense of humor of the locals about things.

[hotdoglaw]

Thanks, very helpful. I actually saw those videos for the first time last night. "All the fish have AIDs..." Good stuff. That's good to know about the hospitals as my wife will be graduating from nursing school and in search of a job.

[kk88]

y wife will be graduating from nursing school and in search of a job

Cleveland might be a great place to in that case. Cleveland Clinics is ranked as the 4th best hospital in the country and is absolutely huge- it is the largest employer in Cleveland I believe and is everywhere you look. The main campus isn't far from the law school so you should be able to find a place to live near both should you chose to attend.