INTERDISCIPLINARY MENTAL & PHYSICAL HEALTH LAW CLINIC
Villanova Law students working in the Interdisciplinary Mental and Physical Health Law Clinic (Health Law Clinic) serve low-income persons in their struggle to avoid exploitation, assert their legal rights, and obtain accessible, quality health care.
Working directly with their clients to help them understand and assert their rights, Villanova Law students provide life-changing legal services to their clients all while gaining valuable lawyering skills.
Each semester, students typically work individually with two or three unique cases. Representation often culminates in an appearance at administrative hearings or in court. Types of cases include proving their client’s eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, representation in surrogate decision-making matters, and appealing denial of payment by health insurers.
In the past, students have won services for clients that had previously been denied by their health insurers, including electric wheelchairs, skilled nursing care, medicines and therapies. They have successfully petitioned the court for guardians for persons unable to make decisions for themselves, challenged guardianship petitions on behalf of persons against whom they were wrongfully brought, and won disability benefits for adults and children with severe disabilities.
SKILLS DEVELOPED
- Interviewing
- Counseling
- Case Planning
- Fact Identification, Investigation and Development
- Trial Skills (Presentation, Direct and Cross Examination, Summation)
- Ethical Representation
- Sound Judgment
- Negotiation
- Cultivating the Attorney/Client Relationship
"My time in the Health Law Clinic was eye-opening. I learned how difficult it is for clients to get the help they need without representation. Serving in the Clinic provides clients with no other options an opportunity to get the health benefits they need and deserve." - Jake Etienne '20
If you have questions about the clinics please contact the clinic office. Your inquiry will be directed to the appropriate clinic.
Villanova University
Charles Widger School of Law
Clinical Program
299 N. Spring Mill Road
Villanova, PA 19085
Interdisciplinary Mental and Physical Health Law Clinic Director: Jacqueline Penrod
