Georgia State University College of Law and the Center for Law, Health & Society welcome Margaret Middleton to the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic. Middleton will serve as co-director of the HeLP clinic, following the retirement of HeLP’s founding director Sylvia Caley (MBA '86, J.D. '89).
“Margaret is an amazing addition to the HeLP clinic and the faculty,” said Lisa Bliss, associate dean of experiential learning and clinical programs and HeLP clinic co-director. “Not only is she an experienced lawyer and clinician, but she has a talent for relationship building that is so important to the success of an interdisciplinary partnership like HeLP. Our students will learn so much from her.”
Middleton is well prepared to contribute to the mission of HeLP, a medical-legal partnership among Georgia State, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Atlanta Legal Aid. In 2009, she co-founded the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, the first MLP within the Department of Veterans Affairs health care. Under her leadership, the CVLC grew to ten staff members.
At CVLC, Middleton partnered with others to conduct a $700,000 study sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation that examined whether the provision of legal services integrated into VA care improved mental health and well-being for veterans receiving care for mental illness and homelessness. The study found significant improvements in mental health and reduced homelessness over one year, whether or not they achieved their desired legal outcome
In addition to her MLP work, Middleton also taught in the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Service Clinic for five years. “What I love about clinical teaching is helping students develop both their professional skills, as well as their professional identities,” Middleton said.
Middleton is excited to engage in the interprofessional education that is a hallmark of HeLP and the HeLP clinic. “There is no question that understanding how others approach their professional obligations and ethical duties enriches our student’s appreciation of the roles that lawyers play,” commented Middleton.
Middleton received her B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and spent two years as an Attitude Control Fault Protection Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, after which she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Janet C. Hall, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. She is a native Georgian.
“We are excited to welcome Margaret home to Georgia and to Georgia State Law,” said Wendy F. Hensel, dean and professor of law. “Her experience and passion will be a tremendous asset as we move into the next era of HeLP and the HeLP clinic.”
Featured Researcher
Name
Title
Department
(Short bio) Occaecat leberkas adipisicing sausage beef dolore porchetta, tail picanha shank officia. Magna ut labore duis, reprehenderit laborum flank occaecat cillum enim fatback tail. Labore sirloin meatball qui. Andouille shoulder doner excepteur.