Emily Hall, a member of the University of Houston Law Center's Class of 2021.
Sept. 21, 2021 - Emily Hall, a 2021 alumna of the University of Houston Law Center, recently became an assistant legal officer for Privacy and Information Security at The University of Texas MD Anderson Texas Center’s Institutional Compliance Office. Hall previously served as a legal intern in the same office during her 2L year. During that time, Hall set up an informational interview with her supervisor, and learned of a forthcoming job opening in the compliance office. She applied immediately and secured the job as she was preparing for the bar exam.
After building a network around her passion for healthcare and landing a highly competitive career opportunity in health law in the process, Hall credits her cultivation of connections and staying true to her interests.
“My laser focus has always been on healthcare,” Hall said.
Growing up, Hall said she saw her parents “interact with the healthcare system in so many ways” and noticed what she believed to be some the system’s inefficiencies along the way.
“I always thought the healthcare industry was super inspiring because you literally save lives every day,” Hall said. “They saved my parents’ lives by taking good care of them, but at the same time I noticed there were so many problems with it. That was my impetus when I came across healthcare law – I could be a part of making it better.”
When Hall came across the Law Center’s Health Law and Policy Institute while researching potential careers, she said everything clicked.
“I found the Health Law and Policy Institute and just thought, ‘That sounds like something that’d be great for me,’” Hall said. “I could be a lawyer, which goes to my academic strengths. I knew I wanted to do health law the day I walked in the door at the Law Center.”
However, Hall was unsure of the specific direction she should go within the field. She had the goal of one day working in a hospital, but knew that was uncommon right out of law school.
The spring of her 3L year, Hall began job hunting and approached it as though she was “networking her way through the health law industry in Houston.”
“It was six weeks of reaching out, casting a wide net, and asking everyone and their mom if they knew anyone that was hiring,” Hall said.
Hall connected with the Houston Bar Association Health Law Section, joined numerous Zoom calls, and reached out to everyone she knew in the field, going “full force” with scheduling informational interviews until finals and then graduation.
“I just cast a wide net,” Hall said. “It paid off because now I have my job and it’s amazing, but I also have this larger network.”
Hall credits Matthew Bourgeois ‘11, her former Healthcare Compliance professor at the Law Center and a Senior Legal Officer and Director at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Dr. Michael Ewer, Special Assistant to the Vice President of Medical Affairs and visiting professor at the Law Center’s Health Law and Policy Institute, as mentors who have been instrumental to her success.
“The best thing you can do for yourself is tell people that you're interested, explain your passion to people, and make those connections with people that inspire you,” Hall said.
