Alumna’s gift establishes fellowship for mental health law at KU Law
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illions of people suffer from mental illness, and its inherent nature and public stigma prevent so many of them from accessing effective medical care and legal assistance. KU Law’s Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic will be able to expand its assistance to clients by focusing on those with mental health needs thanks to a memorial gift from Madeleine McDonough, L’90. McDonough’s significant pledge establishes the Elizabeth M. Gallup, M.D., J.D., Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic Fellowship Fund for Mental Health, in memory of a local lawyer and primary care physician who leveraged her legal and medical training to help thousands of people suffering from physical and mental illnesses. The fund will create a fellowship position within the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic to assist clients with mental health needs, create greater awareness of mental health legal needs, and advance mental health law. The fellowship will be a two-year position awarded to a KU Law graduate. “I am hopeful that KU’s Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic will make some inroads to assist those suffering from mental health challenges to obtain high-quality legal help,” said McDonough, a partner in the Kansas City, Mo., and Washington, D.C., offices of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. “The fact that the clinic is based within the KU Medical Center promotes direct patient referrals and helps bridge the medical and legal care that patients/clients need.” Dr. Gallup held leadership positions in such organizations as the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she founded Mississippi’s Forgotten to assist displaced people with serious medical and legal needs. She pioneered many programs designed to overcome legal hurdles to ensure delivery of optimal
patient care. Gallup always viewed mental health as integral to physical health. “Dr. Gallup’s vision aligns perfectly with the MLP model. Through this fellowship, the clinic will partner with psychologists, psychiatrists, and the broader health care team to recognize and address patients’ health-harming legal needs,” said Professor Katie Cronin, director of the MLP Clinic. “While the clinic already assists a number of patients living with mental illness, the fellowship provides an opportunity to expand the number of patients served and to go one step further to address systemic legal barriers faced by those with mental health needs.” McDonough anticipates that hundreds or perhaps thousands of people may be helped as a result of the fellowship and encourages alumni to consider the benefits of supporting experiential legal education at KU. “KU Law has established many practical, effective clinics,” McDonough said. “As an alum, helping fund a legal fellowship is a great way to further the goals of the school, the students, and mostly those people who may most need practical legal help.” A Kansas City native, McDonough worked as a clinical pharmacist at the University of Kansas Medical Center before attending KU Law. She chairs the Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Litigation Division, and co-chairs the Agribusiness & Food Safety Practice and Life Sciences & Biotechnology Practice at Shook, where she has worked for 24 years. — Mindie Paget
KU LAW MAGAZINE 33