Co-sponsored by Hofstra Law School and the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Approved by the American Bar Association

Description of the Entire Program

This innovative Program is designed to use logic and technology to compare the laws of health care in the United States and Europe, with special reference to Italian law. It is designed in three modules, all team-taught by one professor from the United States and one from Italy, with the modules to be offered (1) in Pisa, Italy; (2) via the Internet; and (3) in New York, U.S.A.:

• Module 1, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa: three one-credit/cfu courses in:
  • Comparative Health Care Liability: Compensation for Medical Accidents;
  • Comparative Health Care Regulation; and
  • Technology-Based Analysis of Legal Reasoning.

• Module 2, via the Internet: independent, supervised research in a single sub-topic within the area of compensation for medical accidents.

• Module 3, Hofstra University School of Law, New York: capstone seminar in Advanced Problems in Comparative Health Law.

The first module provides the foundation for comparative study: a technology-based methodology for comparing legal reasoning in different legal systems, along with application of that methodology to liability and regulation in a health care context. The second and third modules extend this basic understanding in the area of liability, and provide an integrative capstone seminar. Taken as a whole, Modules 1 through 3 create a cumulative, stepped approach to comparative health care law. A student might elect, however, to complete only Module 1, or only Modules 1 and 2. Each student will receive a joint certificate from both institutions reflecting the number and type of modules successful completed.

About Module I of the Program

Gain a new perspective on the American and European legal systems by studying at a renowned European university this summer. Through an intensive two-week course of study in international and comparative law, the Pisa program will help prepare you to practice law in the globalized world economy. You will take three 1-credit courses with no prerequisites. Hotel accommodations for fourteen nights are included in the program cost.

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna is an autonomous public university that is part of the Pisa University System which specializes in economics, law, political science, agrarian sciences, medicine, and industrial and information engineering. The university is located in the heart of the old city of Pisa in the charmed Tuscany region of Italy. The Program will be taught by faculty from Hofstra and the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna which will enable students to gain exceptional insights into European legal culture and legal language.

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