Gardere represents a number of major health care corporations, insurers, hospitals, and other for-profit and not-for-profit health care providers in corporate, finance, insurance, real estate, tax, antitrust, labor, employee benefits, intellectual property, licensing and government relations, regulatory and administrative, and civil litigation matters. Our Health Care Practice consists of a core group of attorneys whose focus is health care along with a multidisciplinary team of attorneys who effectively serve client needs in all segments of the health care industry.
Regulatory Matters
The Firm closely monitors health care reform developments on national and state levels and provides advice and guidance to clients concerned about the impact of proposed and enacted changes in federal and state law and regulations. As the structure of health care transactions are often dictated by parameters of regulations, our attorneys specialize in structuring deals to meet clients’ needs within the regulatory framework. Attorneys offer significant capabilities in designing and implementing regulatory compliance programs, designed to assist health care providers in identifying and avoiding problems that might be the focus of a state or federal investigation.
Business Transactions and Financing
The Firm provides general corporate, administrative, regulatory and finance services to health care companies and providers ranging from large not-for-profit health care networks to small, independent, private hospitals and other entities such as home health agencies, imaging centers, physician groups and health care ancillary services, such as billing, financing and management companies. These services include corporate reorganizations and spinoffs, financing arrangements, joint ventures, acquisition of stock, assets and management transactions, fraud and abuse counseling, reimbursement advice, regulatory compliance and licensing, accreditation issues, provider and vendor contracts, and corporate practice of medicine issues. Gardere represents employers, insurers and third-party administrators in connection with contracts to provide employee medical benefits and has managed care contract experience. Health care related employee benefits and labor services provided by the Firm's Health Care Practice include ERISA counseling and
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance.
Bankruptcy and Reorganization
The Firm also has significant experience with transactional matters, including workouts and bankruptcy matters in the health care arena. The Firm represents a number of health care entities and financial institutions and other parties in workouts, bankruptcies, insurer and HMO receiverships, the purchase and sale of distressed health care facilities, and other matters involving health care providers and facilities.
Corporate Finance
The Firm has a comprehensive asset securitization practice that includes working with investment bankers, commercial banks and other investors in developing and improving securitization technology and effectively applying it to health care receivables and other assets.
Labor and Employment
The Firm provides health care clients counseling and litigation expertise on a national basis in all phases of labor and employment law. Gardere attorneys represent health care clients in wage and hour claims including state and federal wage and hour class actions and collective actions, as well as individual and class action employment discrimination. Representation also includes Sarbanes-Oxley claims, Railway Labor Act issues, immigration, affirmative action plans, Occupational Safety and Health Act compliance and claims, government contractor employment, wrongful discharge claims, and sexual harassment, retaliation and whistleblower claims. Attorneys advise clients on the labor and employment implications of corporate reductions in force, reorganizations, acquisitions and relocations, as well as employment forms, contracts, executive compensation, severance agreements, non-competes, and employment policies and procedures.
Intellectual Property
Gardere's Health Care Practice includes participation by the Firm’s intellectual property attorneys with regard to the preparation and protection of medical software contracts and patent and copyright services related to medical technology and equipment.
Insurance
The Firm has a well established insurance and reinsurance practice addressing corporate, regulatory, coverage and commercial litigation practice areas, and frequently represents insurers, policyholders and reinsurers in insurance and health care matters. Its experience also includes insurance and other reimbursement issues, and HMO/PPO and TPA formation, contracting, licensing, and administrative and regulatory operational issues.
Litigation
Gardere assists health care providers involved in voluntary disclosure programs defending hospitals, physicians and other providers under
investigation or prosecution under federal or state statutes. The Firm offers a full range of antitrust counsel and litigation services for mergers and acquisitions and the formation of integrated health delivery systems, joint ventures, federal and state investigations, requests for enforcement and advisory opinions.
