Health Law and Policy Program

The Tenth Annual AUWCL National Health Law Writing Competition

We are pleased to announce the Tenth Annual AUWCL National Health Law Writing Competition is now open. This competition is designed to encourage law students to write scholarly papers on current topics of interest relevant to health law and/or food and drug law. Current 2L, 3L, and 4L (part-time) JD and LLM students enrolled in a U.S. law school at the time of paper submission are eligible to participate. PAPERS MUST MEET COMPETITION RULES AND REQUIREMENTS. Certificates of Participation will be awarded to all participants.

Prizes

First Place: $1,500
Second Place: $1,000
Third Place: $500

Many thanks to our American University Washington College of Law alumni for generously sponsoring the competition prizes.

The submission portal is now open and will close on Monday, May 5 at noon ET!

Please direct all questions to health@wcl.american.edu.

The competition portal is now open!

Submission Portal

Competition Rules & Requirements

Past Winners

Congratulations to Our 2023-2024 Winners

FIRST PLACE

McCall Johnson
William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Paper title: “Beyond Dobbs: Faith-Based Resistance to State Abortion Laws Under
State RFRA”

SECOND PLACE

Andrew McGirty
Case Western Reserve University School of Law Paper title: “Cracking Causation: The Need for a Workable Link Between the
Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act”

Third Place

Beth Williams
Georgia State University College of Law
Paper title: “The Increasing Criminalization of Pregnancy”

Honorable Mention

Thomas Feil
Seton Hall University School of Law
Paper title: “Taking Your Medicine: Insulating the Drug Price Negotiation Program
from Fifth Amendment Challenge

Meet Our Judges

Gidget Benitez

Gidget Benitez is an accomplished Government Affairs Director at AARP, specializing in federal prescription drug and Medicaid policy. In this role, she drives legislative strategies, regulatory advocacy, and equity-focused initiatives to improve healthcare access for older Americans. Previously, Gidget served as Health Policy Counsel to U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), leading policy, appropriations, and committee work on Medicare, Medicaid, FDA regulations, and reproductive rights. She also acted as the Congresswoman’s liaison to the House Democratic Task Force on Aging and Families and the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus. Gidget holds a Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law and a Bachelor of Science with certificates in Criminal Profiling and Behavioral Forensics from the University of Central Florida. An alumna of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Graduate Fellowship Program, she is a licensed attorney in Maryland and an avid Marvel fan.

Christopher J. (“CJ”) Frisina

Christopher J. (“CJ”) Frisina is a senior associate in Alston & Bird LLP’s Health Care Practice Group and focuses his practice on health care fraud, waste, and abuse as well as compliance matters, including the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, Civil Monetary Penalties, and the False Claims Act. CJ has advised a variety of health care providers and suppliers, including hospital systems, retail and specialty pharmacies, long-term care and senior living facilities, and clinical laboratories. He has represented his clients in criminal, civil, and administrative investigations and routinely assists clients in responding to government inquiries, including from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the HHS Office of Inspector General, and the Office of Personnel Management.

Erin Greene

Erin Greene is the US Lead for Global Regulatory Policy and Innovation at Takeda. She focuses on Oncology Regulatory Affairs and leads policy initiatives on Diversity in Clinical Trials, New Approach Methods (NAMs), Model Informed Drug Development (MIDD), and Pediatric Oncology. Since 2019, Erin has been a member of the International Council for Harmonization (ICH) M15 MIDD Expert Working Group. Previously, Erin was a Senior Manager of International Regulatory Sciences and Policy at Pfizer, where she led the US and international policy and advocacy strategy on Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD), expedited regulatory pathways, MIDD, scientific dialogue between regulators and sponsors, and pediatrics. Erin has worked in health law and pharmaceutical policy since 2014, with roles in state government affairs for the Association for Accessible Medicines and as a health policy analyst for Consumers Union. Erin holds a law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law and a BA in English from UCLA.

John Johnson III

John Johnson III is a regulatory attorney at Shook, Hardy & Bacon where he counsels and represents clients regarding FDA and other agencies involving the regulation of food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and consumer products. As such, he helps clients manage issues such as how a mentholated cough drop is labeled and registered as a drug product, but made according to the food manufacturing regulations. He also helps clients engage with the regulators in a way that appreciates the difference between an inspector’s observations, a compliance officer’s decision, and recommendations for headquarters. John seeks to combine his passions for history, law, science, and product together as he works with clients. Lastly, his favorite court case involved the legal question: when is a lot of canned asparagus “too woody” to no longer be considered “food.”

Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim is the Sr. Regulatory Counsel for Surescripts, LLC, one of the U.S. largest health information networks. He is the company’s primary legal support for regulatory and compliance matters arising out of a myriad of applicable laws (federal and state), including but not limited to ONC’s 21^st Century Cures Act final rule (aka the Information Blocking Rule), Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), e-Prescribing standards and requirements, Intellectual Property, Clinical Decision Support Software, and health care fraud, waste, and abuse (e.g., Anti-Kickback Statute; Civil Monetary Penalties; and False Claims Act). Prior to joining Surescripts, Daniel was an associate attorney for Epstein Becker Green P.C., where he primarily focused on privacy/security, FDA, telehealth, and transactional matters. During law school, is interned at the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Policy at the Food Drug Administration (FDA), and Doctor on Demand, Inc. Daniel graduated from American University Washington College of Law in 2017. He is a member of the District of Columbia bar.

Shruti Modi

Shruti Modi is a regulatory counsel in the Office of New Drug Policy in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She provides regulatory and policy advice on a variety of matters, including priority review vouchers, qualified infectious disease product designation, and formal disputes. Prior to this, she worked as a regulatory counsel and the Associate Ombudsman in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at FDA and in FDA’s Office of Legislation. Shruti holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law (WCL), an M.P.P. from Pepperdine University, and a B.A. from the University of California at San Diego. During law school, she interned at HHS, DOJ, and FDA, and she also served as a Note and Comment Editor for the American University Law Review. She graduated from WCL in 2016.

Phoebe Ramsey

Phoebe Ramsey is Director of Physician Payment & Quality Policy at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), where she provides regulatory counsel to member academic health systems on issues relating to health care quality measurement, Medicare value-based care payment design, health equity, and health information technology. She also provides policy insight as a member of the AAMC Center for Health Justice’s Policy Team. Prior to joining the AAMC she led the implementation of accountable care organization (ACO) payment models at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Innovation Center. She earned her J.D. with honors from American University Washington College of Law (WCL) and her B.A. with honors from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School for Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Alexandra Spratt

Alexandra (Alex) Spratt is Director, Commercial Sector Prices at Arnold Ventures. Her work includes the identification of robust philanthropic opportunities, policy research and analysis, and stakeholder engagement and communications efforts aimed at advancing lower prices across the health care system. Prior to joining Arnold Ventures, Alex was a senior policy analyst at CapView Strategies, a boutique health policy consulting firm in Washington, D.C., where she primarily focused on Medicare and Medicaid payment and delivery reform and alternative payment models, health reform, and drug pricing. During law school, she interned on Capitol Hill, in the Maryland Senate, and at several policy and advocacy organizations focused on health care and women’s issues. She graduated from American University Washington College of Law in 2015 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida.