Impact Story: Benjamin Joseph

Externship Mentors Provide Priceless Advice

Benjamin is an Assistant Attorney General for the health care division of the Tennessee Attorney General's Office. While a 3L in Spring 2021, Benjamin had an opportunity to work with AHLA as an extern, and shares how crucial AHLA has been to his professional development.

I decided to pursue a career in health law because I was fascinated with health care and wanted to help people in an environment where I could continue to learn and grow. I attended law school at Vanderbilt University and had a defining experience with two partners at Bass, Berry & Sims in my Health Care Fraud and Abuse class. This class taught me health law is a dynamic profession that encompasses many areas of law.

As an Assistant Attorney General, I help the health care division office defend the governor’s executive actions and ensure that TennCare (the state Medicaid program) functions to its best capacity. I am proud of the work I am doing to effectuate change in Tennessee, and I believe health lawyers can make real, practical, and positive changes in people’s lives.

My externship with the Association while I was a 3L in Spring 2021, afforded me opportunities to gain experience from the best-of-the-best in the industry and network with like-minded individuals. I utilized AHLA’s resources and offerings and listened to every webinar possible to soak up all the knowledge I could. My assignments included developing a Stark Law State-by-State Survey, which has been helpful in my recent work assignments. The Association also introduced me to mentors in senior leadership like Robert Niccolini, the former AHLA president, Greg Demske, the Chief Counsel to the OIG-HHS, and Kim Looney, a partner at K&L Gates’s Nashville office, who has served as my go-to career advisor. These and other AHLA members provided priceless advice on how I could influence the health law world and contributed heavily to my overall development and future success.

I recently faced a tough decision to either renew my AHLA membership or allow it to lapse. The membership fees were a little steep for my current salary as an emerging professional, but I decided to continue my membership because I saw the value that AHLA offers its members.

AHLA provides so many resources that make me a better health law attorney. I owe it to my clients to be the best health law attorney that I can be, which requires me to stay abreast of ongoing issues and developments. AHLA helps me do precisely that.