Outside General Counsel Services

Fortunately, most of our clients are “repeat customers.” Clients who come to us with one issue will often discover that we can be an asset to their business on other fronts. Indeed, we have a considerable number of clients that engage us as their “outside” general counsel, where we ultimately handle a broad range of matters, with an approach tailored to the unique needs of healthcare businesses. Some of these services are provided on an ad-hoc basis, while others are included in monthly “flat-fee” or all-inclusive engagements.

Resolving Business Disputes

The nature and complexity of commercial disputes will often differ, but the enterprises engaged in them have a common need: to resolve them as quickly as possible while expending as few resources as practicable. We never lose sight of the fact that business disputes are disruptive and costly to our clients, and it is our responsibility to find the most efficient means possible to reach a positive outcome and help them get back to business.

We succeed by combining knowledge of our clients’ businesses with expertise in the law and the art of advocacy. Our experience and foresight lead to sound assessments of risk, accurate estimates of costs, and, where possible, favorable settlements.

We have experience resolving a diverse range of adversarial matters, including:

Breach of contract matters, including corporate and partnership disputes
Insurance coverage disputes, including challenging benefit denials and defending civil insurance fraud allegations
Business tort litigation, including litigation between and among commercial competitors and employer-employee disputes

Proactive Risk Management

Because of our substantial experience in defending providers facing regulatory and payer scrutiny, we have developed a substantial risk management practice. We work with our clients to develop robust, user-friendly compliance programs, to address all the various statutory, regulatory, and payer requirements that bear upon their operations. We also provide—either directly or with outside professionals, such as certified professional coders—baseline compliance auditing to providers of all types and sizes. And when necessary, we assist in developing and implementing plans of corrective action, including self-disclosures where appropriate.

Helping Providers Adapt to Medicine in the Digital Age

We have been at the forefront of health law in New Jersey, New York, and throughout the nation for almost two decades—and now, with health IT at the forefront of most providers’ minds, we continue to stay ahead of the pack. Our Health IT practice combines our experience and knowledge in health law and policy, information privacy and security, and regulatory compliance to ensure we address our clients’ needs in this rapidly evolving environment.

Providers need to ensure not only that their usage of technology complies with government regulations and the law, but also that technology licenses and business arrangements are compliant. Recognizing and complying with the HIPAA/HITECH privacy, security, and breach notification rules, adhering to state data and information privacy and security laws, analyzing, and reviewing fraud and abuse implications are inherent issues in healthcare. Likewise, it is critical to manage requirements from government agencies, which have expanded to include the FCC for mobile health IT issues, the FDA, and the DEA.

Advocating for Providers Through Professional Associations

Far too many law firms treat an engagement by a professional association as nothing more than a business development play—hoping to be engaged by that group solely to secure an endorsement or other marketing opportunity directed at the group’s membership. We see these specialty groups differently, providing them with advocacy and a steady perspective for strategic growth.

Our association clients have included chiropractors, physical therapists, podiatrists, and independent pharmacies, and our work includes designing creative and comprehensive strategies to achieve not only membership advocacy objectives, but also legislative, regulatory, and legal goals. We build flexible and innovative plans to move these groups—and the professionals they champion—forward, working in tandem with association leaders, lobbyists, consultants, and, often, other attorneys.

We understand the unique organizational, political, and public policy needs of professional associations, and we have extensive experience providing advice and counsel to assist these groups in fulfilling their missions. To that end, we:

Serve as outside general counsel, serving as a de facto quarterback in working toward legislative, regulatory, and other policy-driven goals
Focus on discrete issues, such as third-party reimbursement, when serving as special counsel or other complementary role to an organization’s lead counsel, be it in-house or another lawyer or law firm
Provide advice on tax and compliance issues, including the tax consequences of generating non-dues-related income by 501(c)(6) entities
Counsel on corporate governance and membership issues, such as reviewing bylaws and membership voting policies
Provide legal and negotiating support to an association’s lobbyist or lobbyists when dealing with the often-mind-numbing process of advancing legislative efforts
Represent associations in lawsuits, including class action litigation, seeking to effectuate institutional policy change on behalf of its membership

Posted on: Feb 22 2023