When physician-attorney Robert Bitonte's medical practice burned down during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Los Angeles County Medical Association was there for him. The organization stepped in and helped Dr. Bitonte re-establish himself professionally.

"LACMA was able to track down my patients and tell them to get alternate care," says Dr. Bitonte, a Los Angeles physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist. "The association also represented me in some administrative hearings regarding Medi-Cal reimbursement, because all my records were gone."

The assistance was something Dr. Bitonte doesn't take for granted. "Because of what LACMA did for me, I always attempt to give back to organized medicine," he says. He has been a LACMA member since 1988 and has held several leadership positions. He is the immediate past president of LACMA's District 1 and a former District 1 secretary and treasurer.

Another way Dr. Bitonte gives back is by educating medical students about malpractice law. In January, Dr. Bitonte presented "Medical Malpractice: The Fear, the Reality and the Cure," to more than 120 medical students at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona. He was the second lecturer in LACMA's four-part speaker series at Western University this year.

"I provided a general overview of malpractice law, including all the requirements needed to meet a medical malpractice case," Dr. Bitonte says. "I discussed ways to prevent the findings of medical malpractice by documenting good care, good history and outcomes, with ready and early referrals if an unanticipated problem is encountered."

To keep his legal mind sharp, Dr. Bitonte works for several attorney groups, including the Law Offices of Richard G. Rienjohn in Los Angeles, specializing in medical malpractice, human damages and reproductive rights.

He also teaches medicine as a clinical professor and volunteer faculty member for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UC Irvine School of Medicine and an assistant clinical professor for the Department of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

And blending his two passions, Dr. Bitonte is a fellow with the American College of Legal Medicine. "There is nothing physicians do that doesn't have some legal ramifications to it," Dr. Bitonte says. "Whether you're talking about medical negligence, reproductive rights or right-to-die law, medical activity always intersects with legal activity. When I am talking to physicians about legal matters, I can relate because I know the medical side of things, too. I find it to be a marvelous combination."