If you’re a student or lawyer who is also interested in the medical field, here are some tips on how to become a medical lawyer
If you're wondering how to become a medical lawyer, you’re in the right place. As a budding area of law in Canada, medical or health law has become more relevant to the lives of Canadians nowadays.
In this article, we’ll discuss the roles of lawyers specific to this field and share some tips from a Canadian health lawyer. This article can be used by law students and undergraduates who want to become medical lawyers someday. It can also be used by the lawyers as an educational piece for clients about the distinct roles of medical lawyers.
What does a medical lawyer do?
Medical lawyers – who may also be called health lawyers – are lawyers who advise and/or represent clients on issues related to Canadian health laws.
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These clients can either be patients or medical institutions, who are caught up on a wide range of issues in the medical or health field.
Issues in this field may include:
- family health law, including laws on reproductive rights
- medical malpractice, negligence, and torts
- corporate law applied to the healthcare industry
This podcast from featuring a mental health lawyer shows a sneak peek on practicing mental health law in Canada:
Another aspect of health law in Canada is the area of life sciences. Check out this list of the Lexpert-ranked best life sciences and health lawyers in Canada if you want to know more about this sub-field of health law.
Roles of medical lawyers
Under these broad issues that health or medical lawyers can take on, their roles can be divided into two:
- transactional or advisory: working for private and government healthcare programs, advising businesses on complying with Canadian health laws, or working for the government on its policymaking and implementation of the law
- Litigation: representing either the plaintiff or the defendant in a civil or criminal case, where parties can be the patient or their family, or healthcare professional or institutions, for causes of action such as malpractice, health insurance claims, etc.
Because of the broad scope of a medical lawyer’s job, there are times when they encounter other fields of law aside from health law.
This also means that health or medical lawyers can work for various clients and institutions, such as:
- government offices
- healthcare professionals and institutions
- law firms specializing in medical malpractice and negligence
- corporations engaged in the business of pharmaceuticals and healthcare
What are the requirements to become a medical lawyer in Canada?
To become a medical lawyer in Canada, you must follow the general steps to become a lawyer in the country. It includes finishing two tiers of study, which are:
- an undergraduate degree
- the Juris Doctor (JD) degree
To break into the field of health law, you may specialize in one of its many fields. This can be during your undergraduate studies, or while you’re in law school.
You can still specialize in health law by pursuing a post-graduate degree, or by establishing yourself in the industry.
1. Take an undergraduate degree related to the medical field
One of the requirements to take up the JD program is an undergraduate degree. Whether it’s a three-year or a four-year course will depend on the school you’re enrolling in.
While there is no specific undergraduate degree to enroll to the JD program, it’s better to take one that is related to the medical field if you want to become a medical lawyer.
Some examples of these undergraduate degrees, which are also good pre-medical degrees, are:
- biology
- biotechnology
- general science
- health sciences
- pharmacology
- psychology
2. Finish one’s JD degree and become a lawyer
After finishing an undergraduate degree, you can then check with your preferred Canadian law school about their most important JD program requirements.
Most law schools would offer courses on specific fields of law that students can choose for themselves. However, these courses are usually offered in the upper years, since the first year is usually the foundational courses for law students.
For example, University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law offers health law courses for its upper years, such as:
- Health Law and Bioethics
- Contemporary Issues in Health Law, Ethics and Policy
- Mental Health and the Law
- Public Health Law in Canada
- Occupational Health & Safety
Once you’ve successfully entered a law school, you can also check for extracurricular opportunities they may offer to help you become a medical lawyer someday. You may also devote your summer to opportunities for networking and exposure – whether these opportunities are paid or not.
During your articling period, you can consider articling for law firms or public institutions that specialize in medical or health law.
Optional: take a post-graduate degree on health law
Even after becoming a lawyer, you can still specialize in health law through post-graduate degrees like a Master of Laws (LLM).
For example, York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School offers a part-time Professional LLM in Health Law. The Faculty of Law of McGill University offers a thesis-based LLM in Bioethics.
When doing your LLM research, you may also focus on health law or other related fields. You may also choose an elective that is related to health law, when offered by your law school’s LLM program.
How long does it take to become a medical lawyer in Canada?
Becoming a medical lawyer in Canada may take up to 8 years of studies:
- 3 to 4 years for an undergraduate degree
- another 4 years to finish the JD degree
How can I become a medical lawyer in Canada?
Lisa Feldstein gave tips on how to become a medical lawyer and break into health law. She is a health lawyer with a focus on family health law, currently running her own law office in Markham, Ontario.
Get exposed to health care
Feldstein highlights the importance of knowing what area of law to focus on as early as possible.
“While an undergraduate student I realized health law was my passion and so I was able to create opportunities early on,” she says. “One of those opportunities was working in a hospital. I strongly recommend volunteering or finding other ways to get involved with hospitals or other health-sector organizations.”
Pursue writing opportunities
Another way of exposing oneself to Canada’s medical or health law, which is also for future opportunities, is to get into writing.
“There are plenty of writing opportunities in heath law and it is a great way to build your résumé, get your name out there and demonstrate interest in the field,” Feldstein says.
Send your papers to health law journals. Try the health law section of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA), which publishes articles regularly.
“Don’t be intimidated that lawyers will read your work: you can write something safe like a neutral case review. It will be reviewed by the editors before being published. You can even contact the editors to discuss topic ideas in advance.”
Be social – both online and offline
Networking is an important part of finding a job, receiving referrals, and developing resources, which can also be fun. Some tips:
- Pay attention. Be genuinely interested in what people have to say – this makes networking more enjoyable
- Join an association related to medical law. Try your school’s health law club. Reach out to lawyers who interest you to find out how they got started
- Try online networking. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is professional and up to date
Take advantage of opportunities
Learn more about Canada’s health or medical law, or to expose yourself to how it works.
“As a student or lawyer your time is usually stretched thin and there are often too many opportunities to seize. But some opportunities are worth prioritizing and, in my view, practical experience is one of them,” Feldstein says.
Students can take advantage of opportunities by reaching out to:
- firm pro bono programs
- provincial pro bono organization
- health care non-profit organizations, which usually have limited budgets and would need pro bono legal assistance
As for lawyers, they can:
- joining boards of non-profits in the health sector
- joining research ethic boards
- attend hearings of Consent and Capacity Board, Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, or Health Services Appeal and Review Board as a member of the public
“These experiences can help you grow as a lawyer, focus your interests, and make you stand out from other health lawyer wannabes,” Feldstein says.
Getting the necessary experience
The common factor in becoming a medical lawyer, or a legal career in health law, is to get the necessary experience. It can be challenging to enter health law early in one’s career because it is such a diverse field. Some lawyers practice health law alongside litigation, patent law, or employment law.
Having the right skills in health law is paramount. Work on becoming a good lawyer and develop your skillset. Much of health law can be added to what you already know. With the right skills and knowledge – and when the time is right – you can become a full-fledged medical lawyer.
Check out our page on Legal Education for more articles on how to become a medical lawyer or any area of expertise.
