Law School for Physicians

Law School for Physicians

Conference

Law School for Physicians

Schedule

Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort
Falmouth, Massachusetts

Faculty

August 22-24, 2005

Registration Info

Registration Form

PDF of entire brochure

Executive Summary

A recognized legal expert will introduce you to, immerse you in, and challenge you with four fascinating and important legal topics, i.e., contracts, torts, civil procedure, and evidence. You will be actively involved in the learning process. You will be provided materials to read and study before even stepping into the three days of classes. You will have an opportunity to get your questions answered, argue motions, dissect contractual positions, object to evidence, and examine witnesses. You will also have an opportunity to take an optional "bar exam" on the morning of the third day of classes. You will be provided the evening hours to cram for the exam. Upon completion of the course you will be awarded a Certificate of Completion suitable for framing, and the top performer on the bar exam will receive an award and prize.

Can It Be Done:
Q. How can we cover contracts, torts, civil procedure, and evidence in just three days?

A. Yes, it can be done. By selecting highly qualified faculty, stripping away the nonessentials, and utilizing your hard work and pre-course preparation you will learn how to read, think, analyze, and speak like a lawyer. You will also learn essential principles of civil procedure, evidence, contracts, and torts.

What do past attendees have to say about SEAK Law School For Physicians�?

"Great course! I will recommend it to my colleagues without hesitation."

"One of the best I've ever attended."

"Great course! Excellent book!"

"At my level of knowledge about medical law before this course, I doubted I would benefit a great deal. I was wrong! I have benefited and learned a great deal, and I will continue to learn."

"An academic pleasure� extraordinary handbook� the final exam modeled after the bar exam was the classic way to put value on achieving."

"I am, in my opinion, a better physician because of this course."

"The handbook, speakers and method of instruction were very effective, and I found the meeting to be stimulating and very informative. I would highly recommend this program to other physicians."

Faculty:
James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq., is a former trial lawyer with experience in defense and plaintiff personal injury law and insurance law. He currently serves as Vice-President and General Counsel of SEAK, Inc. Mr. Mangraviti received his B.A. degree in mathematics summa cum laude from Boston College and his J.D. degree cum laude from Boston College Law School. His publications include the texts The Comprehensive Forensic Services Manual: The Essential Resource for All Experts, The Independent Medical Examination Report: A Step-by-Step Guide with Models, How to Excel During Cross-Examination: Techniques for Experts that Work, The Successful Physician Negotiator: How to Get What You Deserve, SEAK Law School For Physicians: Seminar Reference Manual, and How To Excel During Depositions: Techniques For Experts that Work. Mr. Mangraviti has trained hundreds of physicians across the United States and Canada.

Day One - Torts Monday, August 22, 2005

Explain the relationship between state, federal, administrative, statutory, and case law.

Explain and discuss the relationship between the various federal and state courts.

Discuss and analyze actual statutes and appellate court decisions.

Understand the elements of intentional torts, such as assault, battery, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment.

Using hypothetical and actual cases, "think like a lawyer" and break down torts into their composite elements.

Discuss how physicians can be said to be at risk for defamation and battery actions in their own everyday practices.

Identify and use lawyers' affirmative defenses to intentional torts such as consent, informed consent, self defense, and necessity.

Use analytical skills to discuss negligence and malpractice, two challenges commonly faced by physicians.

Discuss and differentiate among the four basic elements of negligence: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

Explain the standard of care expected of a physician.

Discuss the merits of various defenses to negligence and medical malpractice actions including comparative negligence, contributory negligence, assumption of risk, workers' compensation exclusivity, and charitable immunity.

Explain the effects of comparative negligence on liability and damages.

Discuss the elements of damages, including past and future lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, punitive damages, multiple damages, attorneys' fees, and emotional distress.

Explain the workings of the workers' compensation system, including the physician's role in it.

Discuss the role of the physician in the Social Security disability system.

Day Two - Contracts Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Explain the differences among various categories of contracts, including bilateral, unilateral, express, implied, option, and quasi.

Discuss the three basic elements of contracts: offer, acceptance, and consideration.

Explain the doctrine of promissory estoppel.

Cite the difficulties and misunderstandings that can arise from oral contracts and oral modifications of written contracts.

Explain in layperson's terms how a court ascertains the meaning of a contract or a contractual term.

Analyze physician employment contracts and covenants not to compete for loopholes.

Specify various ways a contract (or just part of it) can be nullified.

Explain when contractual obligations may be excused because of impossibility, impracticability, frustration of purpose, and incapacity.

Discuss the impact of the concepts of illegality, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, and undue influence.

List ways to avoid the operation of a waiver.

Explain the various remedies for breach of contract including money damages, consequential damages, the role of reliance, foreseeability, and the duty to mitigate.

Discuss court-ordered remedies for breach of contract, such as specific performance, injunctions, and restitution.

Analyze and negotiate contracts.

Day Three - Civil Procedure & Evidence Wednesday, August 24, 2005

List and explain the components of a lawsuit.

Using sample pleadings and court documents, discuss complaints, answers, affirmative defenses, discovery, motions, summary judgments, motions to dismiss, remedies, and appeals.

Explain "discovery" methods such as interrogatories, requests for production of documents, depositions, subpoenas duces tecum, physical examinations, and requests for admissions.

Explain when and where a lawsuit may be brought and when a person or entity may be subject to suit according to constitutional and statutory law.

Explain the basics of a civil trial, such as the roles of the judge and jury, the importance of the opening statements, burdens of proof and persuasion, and the summation as well as the relationships among judgments, notwithstanding verdicts and jury deliberation and decision.

Delineate common trial motions, such as motions in limine, requests for limiting instructions, and motions for a new trial.

Explain the difference between various alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes, such as mediation and arbitration.

State the basic rules and policies behind the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Explain medical implications of the hearsay rule and its exceptions.

State the legal requirements for expert testimony, including its limitations according to the landmark Daubert case.

Understand how attorneys will seek to undermine your credibility if you are called as an expert medical witness.

Monday, August 22, 2005

7:30 - 8:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 - 9:00 The Fundamentals of the Law and the American Legal System:
Students will learn the essential principles upon which the American legal system is based. Statutory law, case law, case law precedent, administrative law, and the relationship between state and federal constitutional, statutory, and administrative common law will be discussed and analyzed. An explanation and discussion of the relationship between the various federal and state courts and the rule of precedent will be presented. Students will analyze and discuss actual appellate court decisions, statutes, and administrative regulations. Questions and Answers

9:00 - 10:00 Intentional Torts:
The elements of intentional torts such as assault, battery, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment are reviewed. Students, through an interactive process involving hypothetical and actual cases, will be taught how to "think like a lawyer" by breaking down each tort into its composite elements. The instructor will explain how physicians can be at risk for defamation and battery actions in their everyday practices. Questions and Answers

10:00 - 10:15 Break and Networking Opportunity

10:15 - 10:45 Defenses to Intentional Torts:
Students will be taught the second step of "thinking like a lawyer," namely, identifying and using the various affirmative defenses to intentional torts. Included are discussions on consent, informed consent, self defense, and necessity. Hypothetical questions will be drawn from physicians' everyday experiences, and reported decisions. Questions and Answers

10:45 - 12:00 Negligence and Medical Malpractice:
Students will employ their newly learned analytical skills in a discussion of negligence and medical malpractice. The instructor will question students to elicit from the attendees the four basic elements of negligence, i.e., duty, breach, causation, and damages. Seminar participants will participate in the process by discussing cases in the course book and utilizing the legal principles learned in a never-ending stream of hypotheticals coming from the instructor. Hypotheticals will stress medical malpractice and ordinary negligence actions commonly faced by physicians. Included is the standard of care expected of a physician. Also stressed is causation in medical malpractice cases and the vicarious and joint liability of physicians for the acts of their employees and colleagues. Questions and Answers

12:00 - 1:15 Lunch (Provided With Faculty)

1:15 - 2:00 Defenses to Negligence and Medical Malpractice:
Students will learn the various defenses to negligence and medical malpractice actions including comparative negligence, contributory negligence, assumption of risk, workers' compensation exclusivity, and charitable immunity. The effect of comparative negligence on liability and damages is explained. Students will be presented with hypothetical cases and asked to utilize the appropriate defenses. Questions and Answers

2:00 - 3:00 Damages:
How much money is a plaintiff entitled to in a personal injury or medical malpractice suit? This segment of the course will cover the various elements of damages including past and future lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, punitive damages, multiple damages, attorneys' fees, costs, interest, medical expenses, lost earning capacity, and emotional distress. A volunteer will be asked to "argue damages" before the class. Questions and Answers

3:00 - 3:15 Break and Networking Opportunity

3:15 - 4:15 Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability:
The role of the physician in the workers' compensation system will be explored. You will learn how the workers' compensation system works. Physicians will be instructed how to determine which injuries are compensable, what workers' compensation attorneys and hearing officers are looking for from physicians, and how to survive workers' compensation reform. The role of the physician in the Social Security disability system will be explored. Hypothetical cases will be utilized to facilitate the learning process. Questions and Answers

4:15 - 5:00 Liability Insurance:
If you are sued, what are your rights and duties under your general and professional liability policies? Included is a discussion of coverage, the duty to defend, the duty to indemnify, the control of the defense, and the cooperation clauses. Students will review and discuss actual and hypothetical general and professional liability contracts carried by physicians. Questions and Answers

5:00 Adjournment (Bar Exam Study Time)

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

CONTRACTS

7:30 - 8:00 Continental Breakfast

8:00 - 9:30 Contract Formation: Offer, Acceptance, and Consideration:
The categories of contracts including bilateral, unilateral, express, implied, option, and quasi contracts are explained. The three basic elements of contracts: offer, acceptance, and consideration are discussed. Also discussed is the doctrine of promissory estoppel. Hypotheticals will be based on situations commonly faced by physicians. Student volunteers will analyze and discuss seminal cases from the handout book with the instructor and fellow students. Questions and Answers

9:30 - 10:00 Oral and Written Contracts:
Students will be questioned about and will themselves question the need, under the statute of frauds, for certain contracts to be in writing. Examples of the difficulties and misunderstandings that result from oral contracts and oral modification of written contracts will be presented through class exercises. The practical necessity and legal need to "get it in writing" is emphasized. Questions and Answers

10:00 - 10:15 Break and Networking Opportunity
Seminar participants can confer and set up study groups for the next morning's bar exam.

10:15 - 11:00 Interpreting Contracts:
Students will learn the process through which a court ascertains the meaning of a contract or a contractual term. Also, students will learn when prior negotiations and understandings will be admitted into court to supplement the terms of a contract (the parol evidence rule). Hypotheticals involving physician employment contracts and covenants not to compete will be utilized. Questions and Answers

11:00 - 12:00 Genuineness of Assent:
Students will learn the various ways that a contract, or portions of a contract, can be nullified. The concepts of illegality, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, and undue influence will be covered. You will also learn when the obligations of a contract may be excused for reasons of impossibility, impracticability, frustration of purpose, and incapacity. Hypotheticals will be based on current contractual issues facing physicians such as employment, purchase and sales contracts, and managed care contracts. Questions and Answers

12:00 - 1:15 Lunch (Provided With Faculty)
Note: The more compulsive participants will already be cramming for the "bar exam" the following morning.

1:15 - 2:15 Important Contractual Clauses:
Students will learn to identify, recognize, and understand the implications of the following types of contractual clauses: choice of forum, choice of law, arbitration, indemnity, limitation of liability, covenants not to compete, and liquidated damages. Students will review actual contractual clauses that they may face in their own practices and help identify their likely impact. Questions and Answers

2:15 - 3:00 Breach of Contract:
Students will learn what constitutes a breach of contract, anticipatory repudiation, and waiver. Available options and ways to avoid the operation of a waiver will also be covered. Hypotheticals involving medical issues will be utilized to demonstrate breach. Questions and Answers

3:00 - 3:15 Break and Networking Opportunity

3:15 - 4:15 Remedies and Damages:
What is a party entitled to receive when their contract has been breached? The various remedies for breach of contract will be covered including money damages, consequential damages, and the role of reliance, foreseeability, and the duty to mitigate. Court-ordered remedies such as specific performance, injunctions, and restitution will be discussed. Students will be asked to identify breaches and determine the appropriate remedies including damages for hypothetical situations. Questions and Answers

4:15 - 5:00 Contract Negotiation Workshop:
Utilizing the principles learned so far, physicians will split into groups and analyze and negotiate a sample contract. The results of the negotiations will then be shared with the group.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

CIVIL PROCEDURE & EVIDENCE

7:30 - 8:15 Continental Breakfast and Contracts and Torts Bar Exam (Optional):
There will be an optional twenty-five question, multiple choice, written examination on the materials covered in the first two days. The format of the examination will be based on the Multistate Bar Examination which must be passed by every new lawyer in the United States. The exams will be graded during the day, and a commendation and award for the top scorer(s) will be presented at the conclusion of the program.

8:15 - 9:00 Anatomy of a Lawsuit:
The professor will take the "mystery" out of the civil litigation process. The essential components of a lawsuit are discussed and explained. Included is a discussion of complaints, answers, affirmative defenses, discovery, motions, summary judgment, motions to dismiss, remedies, and appeals. Students will discuss sample pleadings and court documents. Questions and Answers

9:00 - 10:00 The Discovery Process:
How do attorneys utilize the discovery process? The various methods of discovery are explained. These include interrogatories, requests for production of documents, depositions, subpoenas duces tecum, physical examinations, and requests for admissions. An interactive and lively discussion of discovery disputes and abuses, including protective orders and sanctions, will permit physicians to understand how far attorneys can go and how to "fight back" against subpoenas for records and deposition testimony, trial subpoenas, being called as a "fact only" witness, and other commonly encountered problems. Questions and Answers

10:00 - 10:15 Break and Networking Opportunity

10:15 - 11:00 Jurisdiction and Venue:
Students are taught the constitutional and statutory rules as to when and where a lawsuit may be brought and when a person or entity may be subject to suit. Physicians will learn under what circumstances they can be sued in states where they do not live or practice. The class will discuss and argue motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) and lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to F.R.C.P. 12(b)(1). Questions and Answers

11:00 - 12:00 Anatomy of a Civil Trial:
Students are taught the ins and outs of a civil trial. Included is the role of the judge and jury, opening statements, burdens of proof and persuasion, summation, directed verdicts, judgments notwithstanding verdicts, jury deliberation and decision, and judgments. Included is a discussion of common trial motions such as motions in limine, requests for limiting instructions, and motions for a new trial. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes such as mediation and arbitration are also discussed. Seminar participants will actively participate in the learning process. Questions and Answers

12:00 - 1:15 Lunch (Provided With Faculty)

1:15 - 2:00 Relevancy and Unfair Prejudice:
There will be a discussion of the basic rules and policies behind the Federal Rules of Evidence. Students will learn why certain types of evidence are held to be inadmissible, even where it is relevant. Students will be given the opportunity to object to and argue the admissibility of various pieces of proposed evidence. Questions and Answers

2:00 - 2:30 Hearsay and Its Exceptions:
The theoretical underpinnings of the hearsay rule are explained. Also explained are some of the more important exceptions to the hearsay rule including statements for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment (FRE 803[4]), records of regularly conducted activity (FRE 803[6]), learned treatises (FRE 803[18]), and admission by a party opponent (FRE 801[2]). Students will be given the opportunity to object to and argue the admissibility of evidence based on the hearsay rule and its exceptions. Questions and Answers

2:30 - 2:45 Break and Networking Opportunity

2:45 - 3:45 Expert Testimony and Impeachment:
Students will learn the legal requirements for expert testimony. Included will be a discussion of the landmark Daubert case limiting the admissibility of expert medical testimony. Also included is a discussion of the rules regarding impeaching (i.e., discrediting) an expert witness. Students will learn why an attorney is allowed to discredit an expert witness and how that process takes place. Practical advice to protect from such assaults are given. Demonstrations will be conducted utilizing student volunteers. Questions and Answers

3:45 - 4:45 Trial Demonstration:
Students, working in teams, will make a brief opening statement and will conduct a direct and a cross-examination of a volunteer physician expert witness. Objections can be made and the admissibility of evidence will be ruled upon by the instructor judge. A brief closing argument will be made by each team. Questions and Answers

4:45 - 5:00 Conclusion and Awards:
The top scoring student(s) on the morning bar exam will be presented with an award and all students will be presented with Certificates of Completion.