SMU Dedman School of Law

Cortez, Nathan

Assistant Professor of Law

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Email: ncortez@smu.edu

Phone: 214-768-1002

Fax: 214-768-3142

Web: http://nathan.cortez.googlepages.com

Education:

B.A., 1999, University of Pennsylvania
J.D., 2002, Stanford University



Professor Cortez teaches and writes in the areas of health law, administrative law, food and drug law, and the legislative process.  His scholarship focuses on emerging international markets in health care and biotechnology, and he has become one of the leading legal scholars on patient mobility and cross-border health care. Professor Cortez has also published on the preemption of state and local immigration laws, and has works-in-progress on the uninsured after health reform, administrative agencies’ use of adverse publicity, and the First Amendment implications of FDA regulations. Professor Cortez has provided legal commentary to a number of media, including CNN, National Public Radio, and the Associated Press. 
 
Before joining the SMU faculty, Professor Cortez practiced with the Washington, D.C. law firm Arnold & Porter, where he represented clients on health care regulatory matters, with a special emphasis on fraud and abuse, FDA enforcement, privacy, and the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  While at Arnold & Porter, Professor Cortez litigated pro bono cases with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and was a Board Member of the D.C. Hispanic Bar Foundation.  In 2006, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Rutgers-Camden Law School.  


Primary Articles

Adverse Publicity by Administrative Agencies in the Modern Era (Work-in-progress)

Can Speech by FDA-Regulated Firms Ever Be Noncommercial?  37 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF LAW & MEDICINE __ (forthcoming 2011)

Embracing the New Geography of Health Care: A Novel Way to Cover Those Left Out of Reform, 84 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW __ (forthcoming 2011)
 
Recalibrating the Legal Risks of Cross-Border Health Care, 10 YALE JOURNAL OF HEALTH POLICY, LAW, AND ETHICS 1-89 (2010) (peer reviewed)

International Health Care Convergence:  The Benefits and Burdens of Market-Driven Standardization, 26 WISCONSIN INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL 646-704 (2009) (symposium article)

The Local Dilemma: Preemption and the Role of Federal Standards in State and Local Immigration Laws, 60 SMU LAW REVIEW 47-66 (2008) (symposium article)

Patients Without Borders: The Emerging Global Market for Patients and the Evolution of Modern Health Care, 83 INDIANA LAW JOURNAL 71-132 (2008)

The Food and Drug Administration's Evolving Regulation of Press Releases: Limits and Challenges, 61 FOOD AND DRUG LAW JOURNAL 623-651 (2006) (with William Vodra and David Korn)


Books

The Elusive Ideal of Market Competition in U.S. Health Care, in HEALTH CARE AND EU LAW (Johan van de Gronden, Markus Krajewski, Ulla Neergaard, Erika Szyszczak, eds.) (forthcoming 2010)

Biopharmaceuticals: Definition and Regulation, in PRECLINICAL SAFETY EVALUATION OF BIOPHARMACEUTICALS (John Wiley & Sons 2008) (with Lincoln Tsang)


Speeches/Presentations

Is Cross-Border Health Insurance The Answer?, American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics (ASLME), Annual Health Law Professors Conference, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX (June 4, 2010)
 
 
SMU Expert Believes Health Plan Will Survive Lawsuit, KERA News, National Public Radio (Mar. 23, 2010)
 
Emerging Legal Issues with Immigrant Access to Health Care, Fourth Annual William R. Courtney Lectureship in Law, Texas A&M Health Sciences Center, College of Medicine, Temple, TX (Mar. 17, 2010)
 
Harnessing the New Geography of Health Care
Conference of Asian Pacific-American Law Faculty (CAPALF) and the Western Law Teachers of Color, University of Arizona Law School, Tucson, AZ (Mar. 6, 2010)
 
Harnessing the New Geography of Health Care, 22nd Annual Institute of the State Bar of Texas International Law Section, Houston, TX (Mar. 5, 2010)
 
Harnessing the New Geography of Health Care, St. Louis University School of Law, St. Louis, MO (Feb. 3, 2010)
 
Recalibrating the Legal Risks of Cross-Border Health Care, Center for Medical Tourism Research, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX (Jan. 28, 2010)
 
Ethics in Social Security Cases, U.S. Social Security Administration, Bench-Bar Conference, Dallas, TX (Jan. 19, 2010)
 
International Health and the Law, World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 27, 2009) (with Steve Weiner)
 
Medical Repatriation: Can Hospitals Effectively Deport Patients?, Texas Health Law Conference, Austin, TX (Oct. 12, 2009)
 
The Expanding Geography of Our Health Care Safety Net, Faculty Forum, SMU Law School, Dallas, TX (Oct. 7, 2009)
 
The Changing Role of Markets and Competition in U.S. Health Care, Health Care and EU Law, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands (Oct. 2, 2009)
 
Recalibrating the Legal Risks of Cross-Border Health Care, Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, & Ethics, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT (Sep. 22, 2009)
 
The Legal Impact of Voluntary Codes of Conduct in the Health Industry, Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI), Washington, D.C. (Sep. 21, 2009)
 
Examining Health Care and Illegal Immigrants Claim, All Things Considered, National Public Radio (Sep. 10, 2009)
 
Health Insurers Explore Savings in Overseas Care, Associated Press (Aug. 28, 2009)
 
Compulsory Licensing for U.S. Medical Tourism Agencies?, International Medical Travel Journal (July 7, 2009)
 
Spotlight: Nathan Cortez, 18 (3) Medical Travel Today (2009)
 
At the Forefront of Medical Tourism Law, Diverse Issues in Higher Education (June 25, 2009)
 
Recalibrating the Legal Risks of Cross-Border Health Care, American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics (ASLME), Annual Health Law Professors Conference, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, OH (June 6, 2009)
 
Athletes on Their Own with Nutritional Supplements, Orange County Register (May 29, 2009)
 
The Expanding Geography of Our Health Care Safety Net, Panel on Race and Ethnicity in Medicine, Law and Society 2009 Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (May 28, 2009)
 
Recalibrating the Legal Risks of Cross-Border Health Care, Faculty Forum, SMU Law School, Dallas, TX (Apr. 29, 2009)
 
A Class Apart: Hernandez v. Texas, American Constitution Society, SMU Law School, Dallas, TX (Apr. 29, 2009)

A Blueprint for U.S. Immigration Reform, DREAM Act Symposium, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (Apr. 9, 2009)

"Bill Would Help Educate Children of Illegal Immigrants," Dallas Morning News (Apr. 4, 2009)

"Lower Costs Lure U.S. Patients Abroad for Treatment," CNN (Mar. 27, 2009)

"AdvoCare's Suit Aims at Athletes Falsely Blaming Supplements for Failed Tests," F-D-C Reports, The Tan Sheet 6-7 (Feb. 23, 2009)

"Swimmer's Fight with Carrollton Nutrition Firm AdvoCare Makes Waves," Dallas Morning News (Feb. 16, 2009) 

"It's a World of Risk for Medical Tourists," Los Angeles Daily Journal (Dec. 10, 2008)

Is Chevron Out of Gas? Current Trends in Administrative Law, Appellate Judges Education Institute, Phoenix, AZ (Nov. 14, 2008)

The Local Dilemma: Preemption and the Role of Federal Standards in State and Local Immigration Laws, LatCrit XIII, Representation and Republican Governance:  Critical Interrogation of Electoral Systems and the Exercise of the Franchise, Seattle University School of Law, Seattle, WA (Oct. 3, 2008)

"International Health Care Convergence: The Benefits and Burdens of Market-Driven Standardization," 31st Annual Health Law Professors Conference, American Society of Law, Medicine, & Ethics (ASLME), DREXEL UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Philadelphia, PA (June 6, 2008)

Commenter on Prof. Keith Aoki's "Invisible Cities: Three Local Government Models and Immigration Regulation," Colloquium on Law & Citizenship, SMU LAW SCHOOL, Dallas, TX (April 16, 2008)

"International Health Care Convergence: The Benefits and Burdens of Market-Driven Standardization," Dialogue on Cross-Border Health Care, WISCONSIN INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, Madison, WI (March 7, 2008)

"Passport to Healthcare: The Emergence of High-Quality, Low-Cost Treatment Abroad," ATLANTA LIFE MAGAZINE 40-43 (January 2008)

"When Does FDA Regulate Press Releases? And What Rules Apply?", CENTER FOR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, Webinar (November 15, 2007)

"Employers, Insurers Consider Overseas Health Care," All Things Considered, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (November 14, 2007)

"Medical Tourism: Ethical Pitfalls of Seeking Health Care Overseas," 23 (11) MEDICAL ETHICS ADVISOR 121-125 (November 2007)

"The Local Dilemma: Preemption and the Role of Federal Standards in State and Local Immigration Laws," Symposium on Immigrants, Vigilantes, and Immigration Reform: Civil Rights in the 21st Century, SMU LAW SCHOOL, Dallas, TX (October 19, 2007)

"Biosimilars in the FDA Regulatory Context," Symposium on New Developments in Drug Approval Law, SETON HALL LAW SCHOOL, Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law, Newark, NJ (April 20, 2007)