About our Medical Legal Partnerships

The Yale Child Study Center MLP is the first children’s behavioral health MLP in the country. The MLP was started in 2020 by the Center for Children’s Advocacy, and law students work with Kathryn Meyer, a CCA attorney. The MLP provides direct legal support to improve health equity and outcomes relating to behavioral health issues, educational support, and benefits for children in the New Haven region. In addition, the MLP provides unique behavioral health related education and training opportunities to pediatric and behavioral health clinicians throughout Connecticut.

The Geriatric MLP offers legal services to elderly patients with memory and cognitive capacity issues, in collaboration with medical providers, elder service organizations, and elder justice policy advocates. Doctor Richard Marottoli of the Dorothy Adler Geriatric Assessment Clinic at Yale New Haven Hospital serves as the medical partner for the clinic.  Social workers and case managers at Adler screen their patients for social legal needs and then refer them to this MLP. The major health-harming legal issues the MLP aims to address are estate planning, public benefits, and housing issues. 

The Haven MLP is a partnership with HAVEN, a free primary care clinic operated by Yale medical students every Saturday for uninsured patients, the great majority of whom are also undocumented immigrants. Law student volunteers work onsite at the clinic and meet directly with patients to conduct legal screenings. Volunteers provide advice, referrals, or representation, depending on the situation. Common legal issues include immigration, wage theft, landlord/tenant concerns, and domestic violence. Law students also provide legal training to other HAVEN volunteers and collaborate with community organizations on campaigns for structural change. 

The Oncology MLP works with breast cancer patients at the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven Hospital in partnership with Doctor Andrea Silber, a medical oncologist and the Associate CEHE Director for Clinical Research. Students in the Oncology MLP work with social workers and nurses to screen patients for legal needs, providing advice, brief service, or representation in appropriate cases.  This MLP addresses a wide range of legal issues, including employment, public benefits, immigration, and housing.

The Palliative Care MLP provides civil legal services to palliative care patients at the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven Hospital and is co-supervised by Rebecca Iannantuoni, a partner at Day Pitney LLP. Students in the Palliative Care MLP conduct intake interviews with clients and draft_ desired documents, such as wills, power-of-attorney agreements, guardianship, and advanced health care directives. Depending on patients’ needs, students may also work on real-estate transactions and guardianship issues. 

The Pediatric MLP is a partnership between the Center for Children’s Advocacy, the Pediatric Primary Care Center at Yale New Haven Hospital, and Yale Law students, who work together on legal issues, as well as policy and advocacy to address housing conditions/instability and education access. In 2013, the Center for Children’s Advocacy (CCA) established an MLP in the pediatric primary care center at Yale New Haven Hospital, focusing on issues of childhood poverty and access to services. Students in this MLP work directly with a CCA attorney, Sarah Mervine. Students engage in both direct client services—working with physicians in the clinic to identify patient-specific and systemic issues, as well as policy research and advocacy.

The Pediatric Gender MLP is one of the first gender MLPs in the country. This MLP, in partnership with the Yale Pediatric Gender Clinic, assists patients and families with consultations and training on name and gender marker change, education on gender expression, and provides legal support for families with children receiving gender-based care at Yale New Haven Hospital. 

The Transitions MLP is based in the Transitions Clinic in the adult primary care center at Yale New Haven Hospital that serves those returning home from prison on issues like public benefits, housing, and employment.  It is the first MLP within the national Transitions Network.  Law students screen patients for health-harming legal needs, train residents, patients, and other medical providers on the rights of patients, and participate in community campaigns for structural change. 

Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) operates an MLP at VA Connecticut’s Errera Community Care Center. Students work directly with Mary-Christy Fisher, an attorney at CVLC to provide direct client services and to engage in research and advocacy on relevant policy issues. This clinic provides services to help clients in addressing challenges such as debt, benefits denials, eviction, unemployment, housing insecurity, and discharge upgrades.