Institutional Review Board Review and the Independent Scholar, Part II

Or, Recursive Lawyering (finding a lawyer by calling a lawyer)

There's one issue I didn't address in my discussion of independent scholars and human research/IRB review.

(Nothing in this post is legal advice, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship between you and me.)

I mention finding a lawyer skilled in institutional review board (IRB) and human research issues. But how do you find a lawyer with that kind of experience? Here are three suggestions. The first two are likely to find such a lawyer with the appropriate experience, but less likely to find one who will be available to work for you. The last one is likely to find a lawyer who will be available to work for you, but will be less likely (I think) to find a lawyer with thee necessary experience.

A. Call the general counsel's office at a local university that has an IRB. Ask a lawyer in the general counsel's office with IRB/human research experience for a referral, as it is unlikely that the lawyer in the general counsel's office will be able to help you directly.

B. Call a professor at a local university that is on its IRB. (The office of the university provost, its chief academic officer, should be able to give you the name of a professor who's on its IRB.) Ask the professor for a referral to a lawyer outside the university, as it is unlikely that the university's lawyer will be able to help you directly.

C. Call the American Bar Association (ABA) or your state or local bar association. (Some states, like New York, do not have integrated bar associations, that is, bar associations to which all lawyers must belong.)

In the ABA case, get the name of an officer or board member of the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. In the state or local bar association case, ask for the name of an officer or board member of its administative law section. (Do not let the bar association refer you to a lawyer referral service, as such a service is unlikely to help with such a specific request.)

Call that officer or director, tell them you need a specific kind of administrative lawyer, and describe what you're looking for. They should be able to give you (or get you, after some research of their own) a name or a few.