Jonathan Todres

Bullying Prevention: a Summary of the Report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine : Committee on the Biological and Psychosocial Effects of Peer Victimization: Lessons for Bullying Prevention.

Long tolerated as a rite of passage into adulthood, bullying is now recognized as a major and preventable public health problem. The consequences of bullying—for those who are bullied, the perpetrators of bullying, and the witnesses—include poor physical health, anxiety, depression, increased risk for suicide, poor school performance, and future delinquent and aggressive behavior. Despite ongoing efforts to address bullying at the law, policy, and programmatic levels, there is still much to learn about the consequences of bullying and the effectiveness of various responses. In 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a report entitled Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy and Practice, which examined the evidence on bullying, its impact, and responses to date. This article summarizes the report’s key findings and recommendations related to bullying prevention.

The Private Sector's Pivotal Role in Combating Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is big business, with industry estimates running in the billions of dollars annually. Much of that profit accrues to traffickers, illegal profiteers, and organized crime groups. However, the private sector also reaps economic benefits, directly and indirectly, from human trafficking. Despite these economic realities, the dominant approach to combating human trafficking has been to rely almost exclusively on governments and social services organizations to do the job. Little has been asked of the private sector. Two important bills - one adopted by the State of California and the other introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives - might signal the beginning of a change in the prevailing approach to combating human trafficking. This essay explores the role the private sector can play in combating human trafficking. It examines the rationale for private sector involvement in anti-trafficking efforts and discusses ways in which policy makers can utilize law to spur private sector engagement in the fight against human trafficking.

The Complexities of Conducting Research on Child Trafficking.

Child trafficking is a significant public health problem in the United States and globally.1 Despite substantial efforts to respond to human trafficking over the past 15 years, there is still relatively little known about its prevalence and effective ways to prevent, identify, and respond to it.2 There is limited evidence on risk factors (from retrospective studies) and almost no empirical research on demand or the efficacy of services for survivors.3 This lack of research may be due to the legal, ethical, and practical challenges in conducting research in this context. This Viewpoint focuses on the challenges unique to research studies involving children.

Recent Developments in Health Care Law: Partners in Innovation

This article reviews recent developments in health care law, focusing on the engagement of law as a partner in health care innovation. The article addresses: the history and contents of recent United States federal law restricting the use of genetic information by insurers and employers; the recent federal policy recommending routine HIV testing; the recent revision of federal policy regarding the funding of human embryonic stem cell research; the history, current status, and need for future attention to advance directives; the recent emergence of medical–legal partnerships and their benefits for patients; the obesity epidemic and its implications for the child’s right to health under international conventions.

Children's Health Rights and the "Double Burden" of Disease, Recent Developments in Health Care Law: Partners in Innovation

This article reviews recent developments in health care law, focusing on the engagement of law as a partner in health care innovation. The article addresses: the history and contents of recent United States federal law restricting the use of genetic information by insurers and employers; the recent federal policy recommending routine HIV testing; the recent revision of federal policy regarding the funding of human embryonic stem cell research; the history, current status, and need for future attention to advance directives; the recent emergence of medical–legal partnerships and their benefits for patients; the obesity epidemic and its implications for the child’s right to health under international conventions.

Beyond the Case Method: Teaching Transactional Law Skills in the Classroom

Jonathan Todres With the publication of the Carnegie Foundation’s 2007 report on legal education,1 law schools are focused again on curriculum reform. The Carnegie report highlighted a number of important issues, one of which is the need to improve the teaching of lawyering skills. This article takes up one subset of the skills package of lawyers – transactional law skills – and suggests that health law courses provide an excellent forum for exploring and teaching such skills. With their reliance on the case method, law schools historically have done little to introduce students to transactional thinking, practice, or skills.2 Yet today, transactional work is a significant component of most attorneys’ practices.3 A common misperception is that transactional law only means “doing deals” while at a large law firm. In fact, transactional work encompasses everything from the securities and mergers & acquisitions deals done by large Wall Street law firms, to the small firm counseling a client opening a restaurant who needs legal advice on a lease agreement, contracts with suppliers, and other matters, to the solo practitioner who drafts wills for clients. Transactional work can also be a significant part of government and public interest lawyers’ work. Similarly, the practices of health lawyers are replete with transactional work. Such practices include providing corporate counsel to for-profit and non-profit hospitals and other health care businesses; advising health care entities on employee-related issues including benefits plans; counseling pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and other research entities on intellectual property matters; drafting advanced health care directives for individuals; and many other legal matters that do not require judge and jury.4 Despite the abundance of transactional work in practice, most law school courses are still heavily weighted toward litigation training with their reliance on the case method.5 The analytical skills developed through traditional case law analysis are important to all areas of law, yet there are fundamental aspects of transactional practice that receive too little attention in law schools. I submit that health law courses offer wonderful opportunities for introducing law students to the thought processes and skills utilized in a transactional law practice.

Teaching health law. Beyond the case method: teaching transactional law skills in the classroom.

Jonathan Todres With the publication of the Carnegie Foundation’s 2007 report on legal education,1 law schools are focused again on curriculum reform. The Carnegie report highlighted a number of important issues, one of which is the need to improve the teaching of lawyering skills. This article takes up one subset of the skills package of lawyers – transactional law skills – and suggests that health law courses provide an excellent forum for exploring and teaching such skills. With their reliance on the case method, law schools historically have done little to introduce students to transactional thinking, practice, or skills.2 Yet today, transactional work is a significant component of most attorneys’ practices.3 A common misperception is that transactional law only means “doing deals” while at a large law firm. In fact, transactional work encompasses everything from the securities and mergers & acquisitions deals done by large Wall Street law firms, to the small firm counseling a client opening a restaurant who needs legal advice on a lease agreement, contracts with suppliers, and other matters, to the solo practitioner who drafts wills for clients. Transactional work can also be a significant part of government and public interest lawyers’ work. Similarly, the practices of health lawyers are replete with transactional work. Such practices include providing corporate counsel to for-profit and non-profit hospitals and other health care businesses; advising health care entities on employee-related issues including benefits plans; counseling pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and other research entities on intellectual property matters; drafting advanced health care directives for individuals; and many other legal matters that do not require judge and jury.4 Despite the abundance of transactional work in practice, most law school courses are still heavily weighted toward litigation training with their reliance on the case method.5 The analytical skills developed through traditional case law analysis are important to all areas of law, yet there are fundamental aspects of transactional practice that receive too little attention in law schools. I submit that health law courses offer wonderful opportunities for introducing law students to the thought processes and skills utilized in a transactional law practice.

Teaching Health Law

Jonathan Todres With the publication of the Carnegie Foundation’s 2007 report on legal education,1 law schools are focused again on curriculum reform. The Carnegie report highlighted a number of important issues, one of which is the need to improve the teaching of lawyering skills. This article takes up one subset of the skills package of lawyers – transactional law skills – and suggests that health law courses provide an excellent forum for exploring and teaching such skills. With their reliance on the case method, law schools historically have done little to introduce students to transactional thinking, practice, or skills.2 Yet today, transactional work is a significant component of most attorneys’ practices.3 A common misperception is that transactional law only means “doing deals” while at a large law firm. In fact, transactional work encompasses everything from the securities and mergers & acquisitions deals done by large Wall Street law firms, to the small firm counseling a client opening a restaurant who needs legal advice on a lease agreement, contracts with suppliers, and other matters, to the solo practitioner who drafts wills for clients. Transactional work can also be a significant part of government and public interest lawyers’ work. Similarly, the practices of health lawyers are replete with transactional work. Such practices include providing corporate counsel to for-profit and non-profit hospitals and other health care businesses; advising health care entities on employee-related issues including benefits plans; counseling pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and other research entities on intellectual property matters; drafting advanced health care directives for individuals; and many other legal matters that do not require judge and jury.4 Despite the abundance of transactional work in practice, most law school courses are still heavily weighted toward litigation training with their reliance on the case method.5 The analytical skills developed through traditional case law analysis are important to all areas of law, yet there are fundamental aspects of transactional practice that receive too little attention in law schools. I submit that health law courses offer wonderful opportunities for introducing law students to the thought processes and skills utilized in a transactional law practice.

Inextricably Linked: An International Human Rights Perspective on Child Health and Education.

Millions of children around the world wish most of all for the chance at an education. Their thirst for education is so great that when barriers such as school fees have been removed in some countries, school populations surge almost overnight. Unfortunately, tens of millions of children face considerable obstacles in attempting to realize their right to education. Economic, social, and geographic barriers are, in some respects, readily identifiable. However, another obstacle to childrens dreams of pursuing an education - health status - often goes unnoticed. This article focuses on the links between health and education in childrens development. While connections flow in both directions, the articles primary aim is to highlight specifically the impact of health on education prospects. The dramatic consequences of health status on childrens educational opportunities suggest that educators have a role to play in the health sector. The article discusses the importance of international human rights law in advancing the health and educational opportunities for children and suggests that human rights law can be an important tool for educators seeking to promote progress in health and education and further assist children in developing to their fullest potential.