Though she studied psychology and history as an undergraduate, Pennsylvania native and 3L Alannah Trombetta began her career as a recruiter for a major healthcare provider and insurer in Pittsburgh. A few years later, during a worldwide pandemic, Trombetta’s perspective on healthcare changed.
“I rotated through many environments—from corporate offices to psychiatric, women’s, and children’s hospitals—and saw how many different roles have to align for the system to operate effectively. Then the COVID pandemic hit, and I felt like that really sharpened my perspective,” she recalls. “I got to see the healthcare system respond in real time, and it raised questions I had not considered before, like how legal and regulatory structures shape public health decisions during crisis and uncertainty.”
She enrolled in graduate classes at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health to see whether she wanted to pursue a career in this field, and a class on current issues in healthcare law “changed everything,” Trombetta remembers.
“The course gave me the vocabulary and framework to make sense of what I had been observing. I began to recognize how legal considerations were embedded in everyday decisions and often operated quietly,” she says. “I remember reviewing job descriptions and realizing they weren’t just administrative checklists but were shaped by compliance requirements and liability concerns. That shift made the underlying legal architecture visible, and once I saw it, I wanted to understand it more and engage with it.”
Law school was Trombetta’s next step once she realized her strengths in reading and writing aligned with legal work. However, she was hesitant and intimidated at first.
“I have no lawyers in my family and no built-in familiarity with the law, so I was stepping into something entirely new. But I think that ultimately made the decision more exciting. I’ve always loved challenging myself and learning new things, and I knew law school would open doors and rewire the way I think and solve problems,” Trombetta says.
Utah Law’s proximity to the mountains and several national parks initially captured her interest, and she also liked how central the campus was, with easy access to downtown and the state capital, along with major healthcare systems and schools.
“Beyond the logistics, there was also an intuitive factor. When I visited, Utah Law felt like a place where I could see myself building a life. It seemed like an environment where I could stay engaged in my work while still having space to step away, whether that meant exploring the city or heading out for a hike with my dog,” Trombetta expresses. “I was especially drawn to the small class sizes and strong faculty-to-student ratio, which would allow me to be in a more personal, collaborative environment. I knew I wanted to be somewhere I could build meaningful relationships with my peers and professors, rather than feel like I was just moving through a system,” she explains.
Enjoying different opportunities
The College of Law has also offered her many chances to explore different career paths and figure out what interests her most.
“Professors take the time to get to know you and help you find opportunities that fit your goals. It’s made everything feel much more personal. And that sense of support extends beyond the classroom, too. I’ve felt like there are people in my corner the entire time, whether through the law school itself or organizations like the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion, where I was lucky to connect with two incredible mentors early on,” Trombetta says. “It’s one thing to have opportunities available, but it’s another to have people who are invested in helping you find and make the most of them. That’s what makes Utah Law feel special to me, and it’s the kind of support that I hope to pay forward one day.”
Trombetta notes that getting involved with the Pro Bono Initiative (PBI) early in law school kept her grounded.
“1L year can be so intense, and it’s easy to feel a bit removed from the ‘real world’ when you’re buried in casebooks. Going to the PBI clinics reminded me that law isn’t just an academic exercise, but something that directly affects people’s lives,” she says. “It taught me that one of the most valuable skills you can have as a lawyer is the ability to really listen. Plus, PBI gave me a built-in community of classmates and faculty who care deeply about giving back, which made the work even more impactful.”
Clerking at Christensen & Jensen and externing with Utah Supreme Court Justice Paige Petersen also provided helped her build her professional network.
“I worked with so many incredible lawyers at Christensen & Jensen who went out of their way to let me shadow them, whether it was in court, on phone calls, or during depositions. It made me so excited for my career, because I could see myself becoming part of this accomplished team and contributing to the work they do,” Trombetta says. “With Justice Petersen, it was fascinating to see how the justices prepare for oral arguments and talk through nuanced issues in plain terms. It made the law feel so much more human and tangible. Now, when I read opinions, I don’t just see text on a page from an abstract authority, but the result of careful, collaborative reasoning. It’s a perspective that has completely changed how I think about legal analysis.”
Heading into health law
During her 2L year, Trombetta took a health law class from Associate Lecturer Professor James Ruble and Adjunct Associate Professor Robert Harrison, which was one of the most engaging classes and taught her to look at the “why” behind healthcare policy instead of just memorizing definitions or rules. One lecture stood out to Trombetta.
“Professor Harrison was discussing his research on informed consent for incapacitated patients, like those with dementia or Alzheimer’s, and the ethics of whether a surrogate can consent to experimental research on their behalf. I found it so fascinating that I stayed after class to tell him I wanted to learn more and find more ways to get involved with health law at the school. After some further discussion, he brought me on as a research assistant,” she recalls. “When I started, I had some major imposter syndrome. I kept wondering how I could actually contribute anything meaningful to someone so accomplished. But Professor Harrison never treated me like ‘just a student.’ From day one, he’s treated me like a colleague. He’s pushed me to find my voice as a writer and has been a constant cheerleader for my success.”
Harrison and Trombetta recently co-authored a paper in The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics called “From Decision Supporter to Informed Surrogate: An Improved Approach to Enrolling Cognitively Impaired Subjects in Clinical Research.” She also worked with Harrison to get a team to compete in the National Health Law Transactions Competition, a first for Utah Law students.
“The whole competition is built around a complex healthcare transaction, and we had to write a memo and then present our recommendations to a mock ‘board.’ It took all those abstract concepts I’d studied, like HIPAA, the Stark Law, and fraud compliance, and allowed me to apply them to real-world decisions. That part was especially meaningful for me,” Trombetta explains. “In my previous career, I used to walk past hospital boardrooms and think, ‘I could never be the person in that room.’ Having the chance to step into that role, even in a simulation, felt like a total full-circle moment. Also, the opportunity to work through those challenges with a team of students who were just as excited about health law as I was made the whole experience even better.”
She was also grateful to Professor Harrison for his coaching and says seeing someone invested in their success made a difference.
“I’ll never forget walking out of our presentation and seeing how proud he was. It’s a great example of how law school is full of these unique opportunities. They won’t always be handed to you, and sometimes you have to be your own advocate to make things happen, but the payoff is so worth it,” she says. “Being part of the first team from Utah Law to ever participate in this national-level competition is something I’ll always be proud of.”
When she started gauging interest in the transactions competition, Trombetta realized there were many students interested in health law who were also eager for more resources. She recently formed a Health Law Club to connect students and legal professionals.
“Health law is so much more than just medical malpractice; it’s this massive, diverse world. Through the club, we look forward to bringing in practitioners to show students all the different career paths available, from regulatory work to complex transactions,” she says. “It’s been rewarding to create a community that bridges the gap between the legal and medical worlds right here on campus, and I’m excited to see how it continues to grow in the coming years.”
Trombetta also wants students to know that you don’t need a science background or previous medical field experience to find a place in health law.
“You might be the person who watches ‘The Pitt’ and finds that you’re more interested in how a deposition played out for Dr. King than the actual medical procedure. If you’re even a little bit curious, just start the conversation. You’d be surprised at how many doors open once you decide to just show up and ask,” she says. “Some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in law school, from research projects to national competitions, happened simply because I walked up to a professor after class and asked, ‘How can I get more involved in this?’ The field is so broad that there is almost certainly a niche that fits your interests; you just have to take that first step to find it!”
Keeping her options open
While Trombetta will return to Christensen & Jensen after graduating, she hasn’t settled on one niche within law yet.
“One of the things I loved about my internship there was the variety; I got to dive into everything from personal injury to estates and contracts. I felt incredibly supported and was constantly encouraged to challenge myself and try new things. I’m really looking forward to getting back into that environment and building a solid foundation across many areas of the law as I start my career,” she says. “I want to make sure the legal side of things is working to make people’s lives easier. There’s something so rewarding about taking a complicated legal ‘puzzle,’ whether it’s in health law, civil rights, or general litigation, and solving it in a way that has a real, tangible impact on someone’s well-being. Ultimately, I’m passionate about advocacy that protects people’s rights and ensures they have a voice in a system that can often feel stacked against them.”
She continues to be interested in health law and hopes to specialize more in the field as she gains experience.
“Law school has opened my eyes to how these massive, complex structures, from hospital policies to broad legal frameworks, play out in people’s everyday lives. I can see myself eventually serving as general counsel for a healthcare organization, because I love the idea of being the person who handles a broad range of issues and navigates various legal complexities,” Trombetta says. “I’m excited to take everything I’ve learned here at Utah Law and finally start putting it into practice in the real world.”