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. 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 submissiona 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.

Stay tuned for December 2024 when we open the submission portal!

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

The competition portal is opening soon!

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

Heather Dorsey

Heather Dorsey, J.D., is a regulatory counsel at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), focusing on prescription and generic drugs, nicotine replacement therapies, and hearing requests. She develops policies, serves as an expert on nicotine drug policy, and coordinates FDA and HHS nicotine policy. Previously, she worked as an associate in the Food and Drug Law practice, aiding industry compliance with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Ms. Dorsey also co-taught Federal Regulation of Drugs and Pharmacy at the University of Florida and served as a Regulatory Counsel in FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. She graduated from American University, Washington College of Law, and served as the Clerk of the Public Health Committee for the Connecticut General Assembly.

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.

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.

Wenxi Li

Wenxi Li is Senior Digital Commercial Counsel at ResMed, Inc., a global medical device manufacturer of sleep apnea and respiratory devices. Her practice focuses on HIPAA, digital health, and telemedicine regulatory and commercial matters. Wenxi holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law (WCL) and a B.A. from Hamilton College. While at WCL, she served as Editor in Chief of the Administrator Law Review and as President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA). She currently serves as Treasurer of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Washington (APABA-DC), and served on the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund (AEF) from 2016-2018.

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.