Faculty Profiles

Home/Faculty/Faculty Directory/Faculty Profiles

Biography
B.A., Northwestern University
J.D., Cornell Law School

Professor Evelyn M. Tenenbaum is a graduate of Northwestern University and Cornell Law School. She served in the Attorney General's office as a Section Chief and Assistant Solicitor General and was a consultant to the New York State Department of Health. Specializing in health law, she is currently also a Professor of Bioethics at Albany Medical College and has published widely in the areas of health law, bioethics and civil rights.

Professor Tenenbaum has extensive experience handling and supervising health care litigation. She has successfully handled dozens of cases in the federal and state courts, both at the trial level and on appeal. Her high-profile health policy cases cover areas including mandatory testing for AIDS, guidelines for office-based surgery, state sick-leave policies, the constitutionality of closing bathhouses, and reproductive policies at Catholic hospitals. She was the lead attorney in a class action involving the Social Security Administration's over-reliance on the treadmill exercise test and won class-wide relief entitling class members to disability benefits totaling more than $65 million and saving New York's state and local governments approximately $11 million per year.

Professor Tenenbaum has also handled and supervised dozens of civil rights cases. Her high-profile civil rights cases include a landmark decision upholding the constitutionality of applying the State Labor Relations Act to lay teachers at Catholic Schools.

She serves on the Ethics Review Committee at Albany Medical Center and is the faculty advisor to the law school's Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Moot Court Competition.

Books

Publications

The Advantages of Peer Review Over Arbitration for Resolving Authorship Disputes, 4(10) Research Integrity and Peer Review (2019) (with Zubin Master)Link to publication
Empowering Patients with Alzheimer's Disease to Avoid Unwanted Medical Care: A Look at the Dementia Care Triad, 34(2) American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias 131 (2018) (with Wayne Shelton, PhD; Kevin Costello, MD; and David Hoffman, DPS) Link to Publication
Donate Today So Your Loved One Can Receive a Future Live Donor Kidney: Are Kidney Vouchers Enforceable Contracts?, 14 Journal of Health and Biomedical Law 101 (2018).Link to Publication
Swaps and Chains and Vouchers, Oh My!: Evaluating How Saving More Lives Impacts the Equitable Allocation of Live Donor Kidneys, 44 American Journal of Law and Medicine 67 (2018)Link to Publication
Can Civil Lawsuits Stem the Tide of Direct-to-Consumer Marketing of Unproven Stem Cell Interventions, 3(1) npj Regenerative Medicine 5 (2018) (with Claire Horner, Zubin Master, and Douglas Sipp)Link to publication
Bartering for a Compatible Kidney Using Your Incompatible, Live Kidney Donor: Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Kidney Chains, 42 American Journal of Law and Medicine 129 (2016)» Link to Publication
"Ethics in Long Term Care" in THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ADULTHOOD AND AGING (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2015) (with Gayle Doll)
CURRENT ISSUES IN CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION, A Context and Practice Casebook, 2d ed. (Carolina Academic Press, 2015) (coauthor)
Revitalizing Informed Consent and Protecting Patient Autonomy: An Appeal to Abandon Objective Causation, 64 Oklahoma Law Review 697 (2012)papers.cfm
The Union of Contraceptive Services and the Affordable Care Act Gives Birth to First Amendment Concerns, 23 Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology 539 (2013)sitemanager.aspx
An Innovation in Continuing Medical Education: Online, Remedial Education for Physicians Following a Professional Violation or Incident, 18 NYSBA Health Law Journal 36 (Spring/Summer 2013) (with Dr. Wayne Shelton and Dr. Bruce White)
Sexual Expression and Intimacy Between Demented Nursing Home Residents: Balancing the Current Interests and Prior Values of Heterosexual and LGBT Residents, 21 Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review 459 (2012); excerpt in BIOETHICS AND THE LAW, Janet L. Dolgin and Lois L. Shepherd, 2d ed., at 636 (Aspen Publishing 2013)papers.cfm
Using Informed Consent to Reduce Preventable Medical Errors, 21 Annals of Health Law 11 (2012)papers.cfm
Chapter 14, Protecting Freedom of Religion in Prison: The Free Exercise Clause and RLUIPA in CURRENT ISSUES IN CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION (Carolina Academic Press, 2011)papers.cfm
Chapter 15, The Eleventh Amendment in CURRENT ISSUES IN CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION (Carolina Academic Press, 2011)
To Be or to Exist: Standards for Deciding Whether Dementia Patients in Nursing Homes Should Engage in Intimacy, Sex, and Adultery, 42 Indiana Law Review 675 (2009)papers.cfm
Memory-Altering Drugs: Shifting the Paradigm of Informed Consent, 7 The American Journal of Bioethics 40 (2007) (coauthor)papers.cfm
BODY WORLDS: Choosing to be Immortalized as an Educational Specimen, 7(4) The American Journal of Bioethics 38 (2007) (with Jenean M. Taranto)
The Application of Labor Relations and Discrimination Statutes to Lay Teachers at Religious Schools: The Establishment Clause and the Pretext Inquiry, 64 Albany Law Review 629 (2000)papers.cfm

Forthcoming Publications

Selected Achievements

Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented virtually, Assessing Consent to Intimate Sexual Relations Among Nursing Home Residents with Dementia, at the World Congress of Bioethics Conference in Philadelphia on June 19-21, 2020
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented virtually, Facilitating Greater Use of Split Liver Transplants, at the World Congress of Bioethics Conference in Philadelphia on June 19-21, 2020.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was invited to present "New York's Child-Parent Security Act – Issues and Possible Solutions" at the Reproductive Ethics Conference in Albany on March 20-21, 2020. The conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was invited to present "New York's Child-Parent Security Act – Issues and Possible Solutions" at the Reproductive Ethics Conference in Albany on March 20-21, 2020. The conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum will present "Half a Chance: Legal and Ethical Challenges Related to Splitting Donated Livers" at the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa., on October 25, 2019.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Half a Chance: Legal and Ethical Challenges Related to Splitting Donated Livers" at the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Conference in Pittsburgh on October 25, 2019.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum and co-investigator Jed Adam Gross presented their joint work, "Extending Split Liver Transplantation in North America," at the Canadian Transplant Summit in Banff on October 18, 2019.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Medicine and the Law" at Albany Medical Center on September 4, 2019.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Half a Chance: Addressing the Ethical, Legal, and Organizational Challenges of Splitting Donated Livers" at the Health Law Professors Conference in Chicago, Illinois, on June 6, 2019.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Half a Chance: Addressing the Ethical, Legal, and Organizational Challenges of Splitting Donated Livers" at the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics Health Law Professors Conference in Chicago, Ill., on June 6, 2019.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum's scholarship "Can Civil Lawsuits Stem the Tide of Direct-to-Consumer Marketing of Unproven Stem Cell Interventions" (npj Regenerative Medicine 2018) was selected to be listed in a special collection of Nature Partner Journals articles. All of the articles support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Ethical and Policy Concerns Regarding Negligent Prenatal Testing for Late-Onset Genetic Conditions" at the Reproductive Ethics Conference in Albany on April 5, 2019.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Reevaluating Informed Consent to Better Protect Patient Autonomy" at a CLE for the New York State Legislature on December 6, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Vouchers as a Foundation for a New Approach to Determining the Equities of Live Kidney Donation" at the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Conference in Anaheim, Calif., on October 18, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Medicine and the Law" at Albany Medical Center on September 12, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum's article, "Bartering for a Compatible Kidney Using Your Incompatible Live Kidney Donor," was cited in Clanton v. U.S., 2018 U.S.Dist.LEXIS126047, by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Malpractice” at Albany Medical Center on June 21, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Kidney Vouchers: A New Innovation in Kidney Transplantation with Novel Legal and Ethical Concerns" at the Health Law Professors Conference in Cleveland on June 9, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented a “Health Policy Practicum” at Albany Medical College on May 17 and 22, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship at Albany Law School's 167th Commencement on May 18, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Ethical Concerns Regarding New Innovations in Live Kidney Donation” at the Black Market Gold: Medical and Transplant Tourism symposium at Suffolk Law School on March 22, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Ethical Concerns Regarding New Innovations in Live Kidney Donation” at Ethics Grand Rounds at Albany Medical Center on March 1, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Medicine and the Law” at Albany Medical Center on December 6, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum moderated the panel “Complex Cases and Ethics” at the Alden March Bioethics Institute Clinical Ethics Conference at Albany Medical Center on November 17, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum’s article, “Revitalizing Informed Consent and Protecting Patient Autonomy: An Appeal to Abandon Objective Causation,” was quoted in the concurring opinion in People v. Lee, 2017 IL App (1st) 151652 (2017), an Illinois Appellate Court decision.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum’s article, “Bartering for a Compatible Kidney Using Your Incompatible Live Kidney Donor: Legal and Ethical Issues Relating to Kidney Chains,” was included in a 2016 compilation by the Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal “of the most important and timely articles on computers, technology and the law.”
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was reappointed for a second three-year term as a member of the Ethics Review Committee at Albany Medical Center.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Assessing Whether the Distribution of Live Donor Kidneys is Equitable" at a New York State Department of Health CLE program, held at the University at Albany School of Public Health on September 12, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented at the 2017 Aging Law Series at Albany Law School on “Privacy Rights of Individuals in Long Term Care Facilities” on June 20, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Jumping to the Front of the Transplant Waiting List" at the Health Law Professors Conference in Atlanta, Ga. on June 10, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum co-presented "Splitting Livers Between Transplant Recipients: Ethical and Logistical Considerations" at the Annual Canadian Bioethics Society Conference in Montreal, Quebec on May 25, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented a Public Health Policy Practicum at Albany Medical College on May 18 and 23, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was selected to serve on the Institutional Review Board of Policy Research Associates, Inc.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum moderated a panel on Health Care Reform sponsored by the New York State Bar Association and Albany Law School on April 6, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum acted as a facilitator at an Inter-Professional Case Conference sponsored by the Sage College of Albany on April 4, 2017. The conference included graduate students from a variety of health care disciplines, including nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology, nutrition, pharmacology, forensic mental health, and law.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum delivered an ethics presentation at the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law in New York City on January 19, 2017.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Legal Issues Related to Kidney Donation and NEAD Chains” at a CLE for the New York State Legislature on December 14, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Medicine and the Law" at Albany Medical College on December 14, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum worked with the Government Law Center to plan an interdisciplinary conference entitled "American Medicine’s Curse: The Prescription Opioid Epidemic." The conference offered CLE credit and also continuing medical education and continuing pharmacy education credit. It was held on Saturday, November 19, 2016, with Professor Rose Mary Bailly as a featured speaker.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "List Paired Donation and the Blood Type O Problem" at the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Conference in Washington, D.C., on October 7, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum joined a panel with three other law professors to present "Rethinking Informed Consent, Element by Element" at the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Conference in Washington, D.C., on October 6, 2016. Each professor on the panel gave a presentation on a different element of the informed consent cause of action.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Sexual Expression and Intimacy between Nursing Home Residents with Dementia" at a New York State Department of Health CLE program, held at University at Albany School of Public Health, on September 20, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Causation: The Importance of Moving to a Subjective Standard to Protect Individual Preferences and Priorities" at the Health Law Professors Conference in Boston on June 3, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Teaching Practitioners about Medical Marijuana in New York: An Innovative Joint Continuing Education Program for Bioethicists, Lawyers, Physicians, Nurses, and Pharmacists" at the Health Law Professors Conference in Boston on June 3, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented a Public Health Policy Practicum at Albany Medical College on May 19 and 24, 2016
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum worked with the Government Law Center to plan an interdisciplinary Bioethics Mediation Program. The innovative three day program took place on May 16 to 18, 2016 and offered CLE credit and also continuing medical education and continuing pharmacy education credit.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Paired Kidney Donation and NEAD Chains: Issues and Solutions" at the University at Albany School of Public Health for a New York State Department of Health CLE program on May 4, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum participated in a press conference at the Capitol Building advocating for the passage of aid-in-dying legislation on February 9, 2016.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Medicine and the Law" at Albany Medical College on December 3, 2015.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Sex in Nursing Homes" at a CLE for the New York State Legislature on December 2, 2015.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum worked with the Government Law Center to help organize a Clinical Ethics Conference on Medical Marijuana. The six-hour conference held on November 20, 2015 was novel in that three cooperating institutions — Albany Law School, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Science, and Albany Medical College — worked together to craft the agenda, identify and secure speakers, and provide continuing education credits.

Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented The Ethics of Paired Kidney Donation and Kidney Chains at the annual conference of the American Society of Bioethics and the Humanities (ASBH) in Houston on October 24, 2015.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "A Discussion about Objective Causation" at the SUNY Albany School of Public Health for a New York State Department of Health CLE program on October 6, 2015.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented on nursing home residents with dementia, including those in the LGBTQ community, at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on October 6, 2015. She will address nursing home residents’ needs for intimacy, the factors that can prevent residents from having those needs met, and possible solutions.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented Paired Kidney Donation and the Blood Type O Problem at the Health Law Professors Conference in St. Louis on June 6, 2015.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented Real World Medicine – A Collaborative and Interactive Approach to Teaching Current Events Health Policy with Dr. Bruce White at the Health Law Professors Conference in St. Louis on June 5, 2015.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Paired Kidney Donation and Kidney Chains at Ethics Grand Rounds at Albany Medical Center on April 16, 2015
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented a faculty workshop at Albany Law School entitled Integrating Doctorine and Introductions to Skills with Sarah Ricks from Rutgers School of Law on April 8, 2015
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum participated in panel discussion at Albany Medical College on March 25, 2015, following a screening of the Frontline Documentary “Being Mortal.” The panel explored the relationships that doctors have with patients who are nearing the end of life and discussed crucial issues related to caring for the dying.
Evelyn Tenenbaum presented Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Paired Kidney Donation and Kidney Chains at Touro Law School.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Medicine and the Law" at Albany Medical College on Dec. 17, 2014.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Mandatory Immunizations for Health Care Workers” to the Health Law Society in November.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Paired Kidney Donation and NEAD Chains” at the Health Law Professor’s Conference at Hastings College of Law on June 7, 2014.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was the chair/discussant on a panel presenting “State Actors and Litigation” at the Law and Society Association Annual Meeting on May 29, 2014
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was appointed to the Ethics Review Committee at Albany Medical College for a three-year term.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum delivered a talk on "Paired Kidney Donation and NEAD Chains: Issues and Solutions" at Western New England School of Law on March 25, 2014.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented “Making Informed Consent More Effective in Protecting Patient Choice” at a Forum Series sponsored by the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on Feb. 28, 2014.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was one of three featured speakers at the Clinical Ethics Conference at Albany Medical Center on Nov. 15, 2013, presenting “Mandatory Immunizations for Healthcare Workers.”
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Revitalizing Informed Consent to Protect Patient Autonomy" at Albany Medical College on Jan. 17, 2013.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Medicine, Ethics and the Law" to second-year students at Albany Medical College in December 2012.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Four Independent Institutions and an Interprofessional Course," at the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics Health Law Professors Conference in Tempe, Ariz., June 2012
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Public Health Policy and Ethics Practicum," as part of the Alden March Bioethics Institute Clinical Ethics Capstone, at Albany Medical College, January 2009, August 2009, May 2010, May 2011, May 2012, May 2013
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented Federal Litigation Capstones, Inaugural Conference of the Albany Law School Center for Excellence in Law Teaching, Albany, March 2012
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Reconciling Decision-Making Theories to Protect Intimacy Among Demented Nursing Home Patients" at Conference on "Aging in the U.S.: The Next Civil Rights Movement?", Temple Univ., Philadelphia, October 2011
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "The Causation Element of Informed Consent and the Need for Change, American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics" at the Health Law Professors Conference in Chicago, June 2011
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Ethics and Disability in Later Life" at Conference on Disability and Ethics Through the Life Cycle, Union College, Schenectady, May 2010
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Health Care Reform and the States" at The 2010 Warren M. Anderson Legislative Breakfast Seminar Series (panel presentation), The Capitol, Albany, April 2010
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "A New Approach to Helping Students Navigate the Rocky Mountain of Persuasive Facts" at Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, Tempe, Arizona, March 2009
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Should Nursing Homes Permit Intimacy and Adultery Among Dementia Patients When the Non-Resident Spouse Objects?" at American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics, Health Law Teacher's Conference, Philadelphia, June 2008
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Adultery between Dementia Patients in Nursing Homes: Intimacy for the Lonely or Deplorable Violation of Marital Vows?" at Midwest Family Law Conference, Indianapolis, June 2008
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum spoke about Elderly Drivers on WSLR Radio, The Surreal News, Sarasota, Florida, April 2008
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Cryogenics in Florida" WSLR Radio, The Surreal News, Sarasota, Florida, September 2007
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "BODY WORLDS, Dignity, and the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act" at the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics Health Law Professors Conference, Boston, June 2007
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "A Marriage of Necessity: Developing Facts Necessary for Effective Analysis and Argument Through Case Law Study" at the Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, Las Vegas, March 2007
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum spoke about "BODIES, the Exhibition" on WSLR Radio, The Surreal News, Sarasota, Florida, January 2007
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Blurring the Lines Between Clinical and Legal Writing Courses" at Legal Writing Institute Biennial Meeting, Atlanta, June 2006
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum presented "Building Formal Writing Training into the Clinical Experience" at the AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education, NYC, May 2006

In the News

Professor Eveleyn Tenenbaum was quoted in the Albany Times-Union article, "Pandemic leads to 'unthinkable' in medical malpractice in NY," on April 19, 2020.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was quoted in the Albany Student Press article "RAs told not to touch students in medical emergencies" on May 17, 2018.
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum’s co-authored study was the subject of the Baylor College of Medicine press release, “Ethicists explore ways to regulate unproven stem cell therapies.”
Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum was quoted in the article "Aid in Dying Bill Fails to Pass in Albany," which was published in a number of weekly newspapers in Westchester County, N.Y. on June 24, 2016.

Evelyn Tenenbaum

Cour​se​s​​​