Published July 7, 2016
MONROE, La. – University of Louisiana Monroe alumna Emily Helmick was recently selected to serve
as a law clerk to Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
Helmick was one of six, top-tier law students in the state of Arkansas chosen for
the paid position through a competitive application and interview process. She clerked
in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for the Summer Session I, which ran from May 23
to June 30.
“It is a great service-learning opportunity to have this group of law students in
our office this summer,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “They are gaining valuable
experience from some of the State’s top attorneys, as well as being exposed to the
public service sector. Law clerks are a valuable asset to services provided at the
Attorney General’s office.”
A second year student at the University of Arkansas School of Law, Helmick graduated
from ULM in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management and marketing.
She is from Peja, Kosovo, and graduated from Prishtina High School in Prishtina, Kosovo
in 2011.
While at ULM, Helmick developed a passion for the healthcare field and so working
for the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit was the perfect fit for her, she indicated.
“The Medicaid programs in every state are so important to a lot of people and when
you have people abusing the system with Medicaid fraud or abusing patients it’s very
frustrating,” said Helmick. “These people at the Attorney General’s office step in
and try to balance the scales against people who want to take advantage of the sick,
the elderly, and the mentally impaired.”
Helmick did her first internship at ULM working with a local medical facility and
she said it was that experience, coupled with all her work experience in the healthcare
field to date, that really prepared her to work for the Attorney General.
She said one of the main reasons she pursued law school was because of her academic
advisor, Dr. Paula Griswold, Association Professor of Health Studies, who suggested
law school might be a good fit for her.
“I had a healthcare law class with Dr. Griswold who noticed my interest in the subject,
and so she encouraged me to take the LSAT,” Helmick said.
When asked about her future plans, she expressed a keen desire to return to the healthcare
field after law school.
“I think the healthcare industry is quickly evolving, and depending on what happens
on the political side of things, in the next 20 years we might have a completely different
healthcare system than we’ve ever seen. If we’re going to have an effective healthcare
system, we need people who understand policies that comply with federal and state
laws,” she said.
“I’d like to think that by working in the legal field I might be able to do something
to help that move along.”
