Our mission is to provide much-needed legal and medical care to community members across Long Island, and New York City, regardless of the ability to pay. We seek to deliver holistic care to underserved patients in our community by uniting social, medical, legal, and academic resources.
Partnerships
Northwell Health
We have partnered with Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider, servicing NYC, Long Island and Westchester with compassionate care through research and innovation.
New York State Bar Association
We have partnered with New York State Bar Association to assist the COVID-19 Pro Bono Recovery Task Force in facilitating the delivery of effective, comprehensive and efficient pro bono legal services, in urgent civil and criminal matters, to all New Yorkers in need during and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
What We Do
The MLP focuses on three critical areas:
- Providing legal services to underserved patients in our community.
- Educating current students and future generations of lawyers and health care professionals, and cross-training medical and legal providers in order for them to gain an understanding of each other’s discipline.
- Forming relationships with our community-based organizations, and local law firms to expand MLP initiatives.
We identify and address health harming legal needs such as:
Income
- Public Benefits
- WIC/SNAP
- Social Security
- Health Insurance
- Utilities
- Medicare/Medicaid
Employment
- Discrimination
- Special Education for Children
Housing
- Evictions
- Foreclosures
- Repairs
Legal Status
- Refugees
- Asylees
- Parolees
Personal/Family
- Elder Law
- Mental Health
- Substance Abuse
See your Northwell Provider for more information or email mlp@hofstra.edu.
Get Involved
Pro Bono Projects
Law firms and attorneys can collaborate with Hofstra to provide legal assistance to clients in the following areas:
- Income: social security, public benefits, Medicare and Medicaid appeals
- Housing: evictions, foreclosures, repairs
- Employment/Education: discrimination, special education for children
- Legal Status: refugees, asylees, parolees
- Personal/Family: mental health, elder law, domestic violence, guardianships
Join Our Mission
- Provide high quality representation for clients facing health harming legal needs
- Create partnerships to provide pro bono services to clients
- Expand relationships with community-based organizations
- Facilitate working relationships between law students and licensed attorneys
For all volunteer opportunities and questions, please contact Kerlann L. Flowers, Esq., Legal Director, at Kerlann.L.Flowers@hofstra.edu or 516-463-7360.
Academic Offerings
Law and Medicine Together Class & Practicum
Students are exposed to the core practice areas covered by the Medical-Legal Partnership, including immigration law, education law, disability discrimination law, housing law, and others. The course includes a combination of lectures and skills labs, with each week its own module. Students will also are required to perform fieldwork with the Medical-Legal Partnership.
- Social Determinants of Health I: Why Are We Here?
- The Medical Legal Partnership
- Information Sharing Ethics, HIPAA, and Informed Consent
- Social Determinants of Health II: Income Inequality and Healthcare
- Social Determinants of Health II: Racism as a Public Health Issue
- Social Determinants of Health II: Introduction to Housing Issues
- Social Determinants of Health II: Elders and Their Caregivers
- Social Determinants of Health II: Immigration Issues
Hofstra|Northwell Medical Legal Partnership Externship
The externship is a three-credit course for students placed in Northwell Health’s legal departments. The placements involve rotations between two of the following legal departments: Office of Legal Affairs, Feinstein Department (Intellectual Property), Managed Care Contracting Team, Compliance, Procurement, Information Technology, Human Resources and Risk. The externship exposes students to the legal practice of in-house attorneys in a hospital system. Students perform legal tasks under the supervision of a practicing attorney.
Contact Us
Email
MLP@Hofstra.edu
Phone
(516) 463-6128
Janet L. Dolgin
Jack and Freda Dicker Distinguished Professor of Health Care Law; Professor of Science Education, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine; Co-director, Hofstra Bioethics Center; Director, Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy
Kerlann Flowers
Legal Director and Senior Attorney for the Northwell/Hofstra Medical Legal Partnership and Senior Fellow for the Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Carlos Mulles
Public Assistance Attorney for the Hofstra/Northwell Medical-Legal Partnership and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Michelle C. Wallace
Assistant Director, Gitenstein Institute For Health Law and Policy and Co-Director, Hofstra Bioethics Center