2025 Fellows in Health Law & Policy and Family Law & Policy Present Intriguing Research

The extensive findings of major Law School student research projects in health and family law and policy were presented to the Law School community, friends, and family members on April 11 at the Subotnick Center by this year’s Health Law & Policy Fellows (under the direction of Professor Karen Porter, Associate Dean for Academic and Student Success, and Executive Director of the Center for Health, Science and Public Policy); and Family Law & Policy Fellows (under the direction of Professor Cynthia Godsoe).  

The centerpiece of the year-long fellowships, these research projects focus on a legal or policy issue in their respective fields and are conducted under the mentorship of faculty members or professionals. This year, that included Brooklyn Law faculty William Araiza, Stanley A. August Professor of Law; Anita Bernstein, Anita and Stuart Subotnick Professor of Law; Assistant Professor of Legal Writing Elizabeth Chen; Professor Susan Hazeldean, Associate Dean of Experiential Education and Director of the LGBT Advocacy Clinic; Adjunct Professor Sarah B. Hechtman; Professor Christina Mulligan; and Assistant Professor Prianka Nair, Director of the Disability and Civil Rights Clinic. 

In her welcoming remarks, Porter extended thanks to the faculty mentors for their support of and work with the fellows to give them “the opportunity to put their best work forward.” She also thanked the students for making the decision to pursue the fellowships.  

“It’s a journey that not many students will take, but one that is different from other fellowships in that it asks you to do something beyond the work that you are doing normally in law school, to pursue an independent project of your own,” Porter said. “And people have come up with such terrific projects to pursue.”  

Health Law & Policy Fellows 

Meaghan Brady ’26 is a member of Brooklyn Law School’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Honor Society, Vice President of Communications for the Legal Association for Woman (LAW), and is participating in an externship program with Covenant House New York, focusing on health center compliance. Using the bankruptcy filing of biotechnology company 23andMe as a focal point, she has centered her research on the current landscape of the privacy and protection of health information in the U.S. and the need for stricter regulation of biotechnology and other companies that maintain user health information.  

D'Shandi Coombs, ’26, who participates in the New York City Legislation and Policy Clinic with the New York City Council, has explored the issue of how we access health information (and often, misinformation) on social media. She has developed a legislative memo and bill draft to be presented to the council that proposes the establishment of an Office of Public Health Information and Digital Engagement within the New York City Civic Engagement Commission to systematically audit public health-related city agency communications, evaluate the impact of social media algorithms, and issue strategic recommendations for enhancing public engagement and trust. 

She is also building on her background in urban planning and an interest in real estate by serving this summer as a transaction intern with the firm Rosenberg & Estis.  

Matthew Lai ’25, has investigated laws that some states have enacted requiring social media platforms to use disclosures to inform minors about the potential dangers that online content may pose to mental health, and the unsettled standard for determining whether these government-mandated disclosures violate a commercial speaker’s First Amendment rights. 

With a passion for both environmental health and public health, Lai is a member of Brooklyn Law’s Environmental Law Society and has interned at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Yeonjeong (Kelly) Lee ’25, who graduated in February, has participated in advocacy work at the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Animal Care Centers of NYC, as well as being co-president of Brooklyn Law’s Korean American Law Student Association and a delegate to Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest. With her focus on animal law and health law, she has developed for her research project a guide that explores the legal landscape of veterinary malpractice, including the key differences between human and veterinary standards of care, the limited oversight of veterinary professionals, and the challenges pet owners face in seeking justice, as well as recommending reforms to the current system.  

Junlin (Jocelyn) Shi ’26 examines the “patent cliff” in pharmaceuticals—when a pharmaceutical monopoly ends, giving way to open competition and accessible pricing—and the pharma companies that have managed, through various legal means, to hold market exclusivity beyond when the legal protections were meant to expire. She explores increasing antitrust scrutiny of global patent settlements, growing judicial skepticism toward evergreening strategies, and the persistent scientific and regulatory barriers to biosimilar entry. Shi holds undergraduate degrees in pharmaceutical sciences and international economics and trade, and has gained admission to the bar in China, where, as a practicing lawyer, she worked at Dentons (Beijing office) and advised Sinovac and Sanofi on the PRC’s Vaccine Administration Act. 

Family Law & Policy Fellows 

Pavitra Antony ’26 has researched the legal, ethical, and humanitarian intricacies of cross-border custody disputes and the interplay of domestic family laws and international treaties, such as the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. She offered doctrinal and comparative legal analysis as well as recommendations for harmonizing the two frameworks to ensure fair, efficient, and child-centered custody resolutions.  

At Brooklyn Law, Antony was a senator in the Student Bar Association and has been active in, among other organizations, the South Asian Law Students Association. 

Amanda Bard ’26 has examined the effectiveness of Family Dependency Treatment Courts (FDTCs), an alternative approach to the traditional family child welfare system for child abuse and neglect cases, especially in relation to how they address substance abuse disorder among parents. She analyzes FDTCs’ rehabilitative approach of integrating judicial oversight with treatment services, and its impact on families and their preservation.  

Bard participates in Brooklyn Law’s Criminal Defense: Legal Aid Society Clinic, has worked at the Alternatives to Incarceration program in Manhattan Criminal Court for four years, and will be a legal intern at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office this summer.  

Laine Cohen ’25 was inspired by her volunteer work with the nonprofit organization Sibling Connections to concentrate her research on the foster-care system and the institutional and group home settings where many children are placed. She examined four different states to assess how their policy adaptation under the Families First Prevention Services Act has improved or harmed the child welfare system and how to implement additional policies to continue the reduction of children in congregate care.  

Cohen is the Appellate Vice President of Brooklyn Law’s Moot Court Honor Society and winner of last year’s Gabrielli Family Law Competition. She is also the Director of the Law School’s ACLU chapter and a member of the Criminal Defense and Advocacy Clinic. Upon graduation, she will begin working as assistant corporation counsel at the New York City Law Department.  

Mengfei Leng ’25 has focused her research on complicated and challenging cases of women who are victims of domestic violence by their partners, who remain with the partners, and are then found responsible for derivative neglect or abuse of her children. She explores how courts evaluate these situations and what impact this has on child custody rulings.  

In addition to her Family Law and Policy Fellowship, Leng has been an Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Law Fellow, a Center for Criminal Justice Fellow, and Vice President of Brooklyn Advocates for Justice Reform. She will be joining the Alaska Public Defender Agency after graduation. 

Noa Scheinfeld ’26 has concentrated her research work on the complex intersection of domestic violence and divorce under New York State law. She analyzes how the state’s legal framework addresses the unique and multifaceted challenges faced by survivors and examines key statutes and recent reforms, such as the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA).  

Scheinfeld is current president of Brooklyn Law’s Family Law and Policy Association and a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Honor Society, as well as having been a judicial intern with New York State Supreme Court’s Matrimonial Division. She will be a summer associate in the upcoming season at Manhattan-based matrimonial law firm Green, Kaminer, Min & Rockmore. 

Jiayu (Dolores) Zhao ’25 has investigated the complex distinction between child neglect and child abuse in family law, and how the blurring of these definitions can lead to punitive measures against parents who may be struggling with economic hardship rather than exhibiting malicious intent. She analyzes statutory language, appellate decisions, and agency practices, and calls for reforms that will lead to more equitable context-sensitive outcomes.  

Zhao is an active member of Brooklyn Law’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Honor Society. Upon graduation, she will begin a position as a law clerk at Grandelli & Eskenasi, focusing on personal injury and medical malpractice.

At the conclusion of the presentations, Godsoe once again thanked the faculty mentors and congratulated all the fellows, who, she said, “have had these Incredibly interesting topics and provided a lot of insight and information to us all.” 

See photos from the fellows’ presentations.

See abstracts from Health Law & Policy Fellows.

See abstracts from Family Law & Policy Fellows.