Gather ideas for your medical law and ethics paper by selecting a general subject, such as federal laws on health care, access to medical care or another broad area. Narrow the scope of your research by reviewing recent legal developments, such as court decisions or newly published academic articles. Look for ongoing debates in legal newspapers, legal journals and medical journals. Develop a legal question or thesis for your paper that promotes recent debate or that presents an entirely new topic in medical ethics.
Speak with your professor or an academic adviser, if you plan to write your paper as part of a class or program of study, or speak with a colleague in your professional field, if you would like feedback regarding your paper topic. Ask for suggested reading and sources to continue your research.
Conduct research to support the thesis, arguments or questions that you plan to discuss in your medical ethics paper. Read a variety of sources, including publications specifically intended for medical and legal practitioners, such as the "Medical Law Review" and other academic journals. Gather information presented by professional organizations, such as the American Medical Association.
Select a structure for your paper, depending on the intended audience; for example, a law school professor may require the structure of a legal comment or note if you plan to submit the paper as coursework, whereas a medical journal may impose different requirements if you plan to submit the paper for publication. Note any stylistic or formatting requirements, such as use of a particular citation system. Write a first draft of your paper, using the research that you previously compiled and following the requirements imposed by the selected paper structure.
Review the first draft of your paper and seek advice from your professor or a colleague, if you would like someone to read the paper before submission. Revise your medical law and ethics paper, as necessary, to consider clarity, original thinking and thoroughness of research. Proofread your paper for grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, conformity to formatting requirements and accuracy of source citations.