New Health Law Section Chair Jim Dering Wants To Hear From You
5.18.2026
Jim Dering plans on getting on feedback from members as he starts his term as the new chair of the Health Law Section.
“To work with the Health Law Section’s other officers and Executive Committee, as well as others, in continuing to advance the section’s efforts to best serve existing members and attract new ones,” said Dering. “Whether that’s through increasing the visibility of the Health Law Section, or providing additional CLEs or other services that are of assistance to members. The section has a strong history of finding ways to best serve its members through a process that isn’t driven by one person – it’s a group effort – which is a real strength of the section.”
Dering wants to highlight the different committees in the Health Law Section on social media to showcase the section’s robust committee structure. The section’s committees cover a wide breadth of topics and offer numerous ways for people to participate.
“We would like both new and seasoned attorneys who are not currently involved with the section to be aware of what it has to offer and the professional camaraderie it provides. This includes the ability for attorneys of all experience levels to get involved not only to enjoy the benefits the section offers, but to share their talents with others.” Dering said.
Dering also spoke about meeting with President-Elect Taa Grays about working with other sections. “Those would be sections with interests in common with the Health Law Section to see how the sections can potentially collaborate by putting on joint programs or joining forces in other ways,” he said.
Dering is a partner/director at Garfunkel Wild and works from the firm’s Albany office. In his practice, Jim represents health care providers of all types including but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, adult homes, assisted living residences, home care agencies, physician practices, individual physicians and other licensed individuals. This includes representing providers before the New York State Department of Health and other state agencies, providing regulatory analysis and advice to clients, representing buyers and sellers in home care agency and assisted living residence transactions, and meeting client needs in a variety of other types of matters.
Dering is a former general counsel for the New York State Department of Health. Earlier in his career, he was also the head of the New York State Attorney General’s Health Care Bureau.
