HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES NEWS
HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES NEWS
Exploring Critical Business and Legal Issues across the Healthcare and Life Sciences Industries
HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES NEWS
Exploring Critical Business and Legal Issues across the Healthcare and Life Sciences Industries
Uncategorized
Subscribe to Uncategorized's Posts

5 Questions with a Health Policy Specialist: Deborah Godes

Deborah Godes
Focus Area: Market Access Strategies
Office: Washington, D.C.
Years at McDermott+Consulting: 8


What is your favorite part about your health policy work at McDermott+Consulting?
For me, I love the people with whom I work. It may sound a bit cliché but the people on the Market Access team at McDermottPlus each contribute in a critical way, whether it is their wealth of knowledge from their decades of experience, their analytical approach to challenges and their expertise with critical data sets, or their fresh perspective to an ongoing challenge. While we may have different roles and responsibilities in the development or execution of the strategy, we are always working together as one with the client to achieve the optimal outcome.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?
I work with clients that are bringing innovative solutions to the market whether diagnostic tests, medical devices or healthcare services, a number of which are artificial intelligence-based solutions. The biggest opportunity and the greatest challenge for our clients is the level of uncertainty from a reimbursement perspective. Some clients are introducing new concepts that the Administration has not considered previously which creates opportunities for these companies to set new precedent. However, the novelty creates challenges because the Administration may not have historically viewed medical devices or diagnostic tests in that way so it requires a change in [...]

Continue Reading




read more

5 Questions with a Life Sciences Lawyer: Doug Carsten

Doug H. Carsten
Practice Focus Area: Patient Litigation
Office: Orange County
Years at Firm: Joined in March 2021

What is your favorite part about practicing life sciences law at McDermott?
I love working with the incredibly talented partners and associates in McDermott Will & Emery’s life sciences group. The level of disparate practice group talent here is remarkable, and I am so excited to collaborate with this team to help our fantastic life sciences clients.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?
Biggest opportunity: To work with our life sciences team!
Seriously, the biggest opportunity and challenge facing our life sciences clients are the same – the current pandemic landscape. As an opportunity, life sciences companies have never before been so much in the spotlight and viewed as a potential answer to the COVID-19 virus. On the other hand, the very nature of the pandemic has deeply affected and really changed how life sciences – and all companies – conduct business.

What kind of client work gets you most excited when it comes across your desk?
My true love is trying cases. It doesn’t matter what the issue is – if there is a trial involved, I am excited. Secondarily, I really enjoy unpacking complex fact patterns and developing strategies that the client hadn’t thought of to get around particular challenges.

What [...]

Continue Reading




read more

HPE New York 2021: Prepare for Tomorrow

Kevin Miller—a partner at McDermott Will & Emery whose practice largely focuses on the securities, tax and regulatory aspects of complex transactions—moderated a panel during HPE New York 2021 that looked at how government actions will impact the market. The panel feature:

  • Diane Daych, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Granite Growth Health Partner
  • Brian Fortune, Senior Managing Director, Farragut Square Group
  • Mara McDermott, Vice President, McDermott+Consulting
  • Alex Ruiz, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
  • Thomas Scully, General Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe

Access the full takeaways here.
Watch the session recording here.




read more

5 Questions with a Health Lawyer: Travis Jackson

Travis Jackson
Practice Focus Area: Hospital and Health System M&A
Office: Los Angeles
Years at Firm: Joined in May 2021

  1. What is your favorite part about practicing healthcare law at McDermott? 

The people are my favorite part of being at McDermott. I am not just repeating some “corporate speak” I learned in orientation when I say that. Each person recognizes that we are part of the same team. Our collective success depends on our ability to meet and exceed our clients’ goals. Doing that consistently takes a selfless approach that we exemplify. As a firm, McDermott has unique capabilities across the healthcare industry, regardless of what the issue might be; we work with a commitment of being prepared to assist one another whenever necessary to bring that collective experience to bear on a unique transaction question or regulatory issue. I think that shared philosophy distinguishes us from many of our peers.

  1. What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?

(more…)




read more

5 Questions with a Health Lawyer: Dana Dombey

Dana Dombey
Practice Focus Area: Healthcare M&A
Office: Miami
Years at Firm: 8 years

What is your favorite part about practicing healthcare law at McDermott?
Without question, our team. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with colleagues who are both the top experts in the field and people of the highest caliber, who deeply care about each other and who I can call good friends.

I also really enjoy the creative problem-solving aspects of the job, which comes up frequently in both my transactional and regulatory practices as well as the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues to navigate complex issues for clients.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?
I generally work with healthcare providers and investors in the healthcare industry, including private equity funds, on transactional and regulatory matters. Our clients have the opportunity to be at the forefront of innovative technologies, care delivery models, and collaboration in a rapidly evolving industry where even the smallest of players can have a significant impact. From my perspective, the biggest challenge facing healthcare investors is the increasingly competitive, seller-friendly market. With only a limited number of assets available for investments, we work closely with our healthcare investor clients to develop creative value propositions for healthcare providers and founders of healthcare companies.

What kind [...]

Continue Reading




read more

5 Questions with a Health Lawyer: Li Wang

Li Wang
Practice Focus Area: Transactions and Health Privacy
Office: New York
Years at Firm: 4 years

What is your favorite part about practicing healthcare law at McDermott?
In Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, author Adam Grant discusses how knowledge collaboration (and a culture of giving) contributes to more success for organizations. My favorite part about practicing healthcare law at McDermott is its embodiment of knowledge collaboration where ideas are bounced off of healthcare experts within the group and solutions are developed through contributions from the full team. When you have multiple experts thinking through an issue from multiple angles, the end product inevitably results in high quality. I am grateful and proud to get to be a part of the collaborative culture of the team that has been consistently ranked the best in the nation.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?
Constituents in the healthcare industry are looking for innovation and reduction in inefficiencies. Just as players in other industries, such as consumer products, are always looking for the next big invention. Healthcare constituents are also seeking products, services and collaborations that they hope will improve everyday lives at the most efficient cost. We have seen innovations in telehealth, app-based healthcare services, vertical collaborations, etc., and I believe we are just at the tip of [...]

Continue Reading




read more

5 Questions with a Health Lawyer: Tony Maida

Tony Maida
Practice Focus Area: Health
Office: New York
Years at Firm: 6 years

What is your favorite part about practicing healthcare law at McDermott?
The people and the variety. I have to be honest that when I left government service with the HHS Office of Inspector General, I did not expect to find even a similar type of camaraderie at Big Law given the time pressures and demands. I have been pleasantly surprised by how the health group truly functions as a team. People help each other out, whether it is to contribute to a pitch, thought piece, or client project, and do so with enthusiasm. This espirit de corps is an ingrained part of the culture.

And I am happiest when I have variety in my work. At McDermott, I work with clients across the healthcare spectrum, from health systems, physician practices and post-acute providers and suppliers, life sciences and technology companies as well as payors. These clients present many regulatory issues to grapple with and having this broad industry viewpoint helps give the best-informed advice and identify practical solutions.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?
It is a bit of a cliché to say healthcare is always changing, but sometimes clichés are true. We have a confluence of a few large issues 1) changing payment models in part driven by government budgets and aging population, [...]

Continue Reading




read more

McDermott Earns “Elite” Firm Designation and 12th Consecutive Band 1 National Ranking from Chambers USA

International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce its Healthcare Group received its 12th consecutive national Band 1 ranking in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA. The team also earned Band 1 state-level healthcare rankings in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington, DC. Additionally, the Firm earned the national Spotlight Table ranking for the Privacy and Data Security: Healthcare category. Overall, the Firm saw a 25% increase in the number of new partners recognized, bringing the total to 37.

Chambers praised McDermott’s Health Industry Advisory practice, describing the team as “top-notch” and “very knowledgeable, responsive and practical.” Interviewees also drew attention to the Firm’s “incredible roster of clients.”

Clients provided similarly impressive remarks, noting our team’s deep bench strength and specialties. “McDermott is the best – they have the deepest knowledge and the most subspecialists” and “the firm consistently produces high-value work. It does a great job quickly analyzing and reporting out on regulatory and legislative changes.” One interviewee recognized “McDermott’s healthcare practice is unparalleled. It has experts on every corner of the industry.”

This year was particularly important and challenging for the health industry. Our passion and dedication to help clients achieve and surpass their business goals, while delivering the highest level of care – no matter the state of the healthcare landscape – was most important to us.  “We are honored that Chambers USA again recognized our unwavering commitment to clients,” said Eric Zimmerman, global lead of McDermott’s Health practice. “After the challenges over the last [...]

Continue Reading




read more

5 Questions with a Health Lawyer: Sandra M. DiVarco

Sandra M. DiVarco
Practice Focus Area: Health
Office: Chicago
Years at Firm: 19 years

What is your favorite part about practicing healthcare law at McDermott?
I sometimes joke that there is “never a dull moment” in my practice, but it really isn’t a joke! With the spectrum of clients we serve in the healthcare space, we are faced daily with novel questions, complex situations and unique business issues – often with incredibly short timelines. Even after years of practice, no two days are exactly the same and I would not have it any other way.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?
My practice is primarily focused on assisting hospitals and healthcare systems with the diversity of regulatory and corporate issues they face every day. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting to the changing nature of healthcare was posing challenges for these providers. The pandemic accelerated the use of what were previously novel care delivery processes, fueled by regulatory flexibilities permitted during the public health emergency. How hospitals and health systems will further adapt by scaling back (in cases where flexibilities are not made permanent) or ramping up (where regulatory changes are made permanent) will be the next challenge. Revenue hits from the pandemic and provider burnout may dampen some of the energy for major change as we emerge from [...]

Continue Reading




read more

5 Questions with a Health Lawyer: Esther Chang Weese

Esther Chang Weese
Practice Focus Area: Health
Office: Los Angeles
Years at Firm: 18 years

What is your favorite part about practicing healthcare law at McDermott?
Hands down – the people. I started at McDermott as a summer associate in 2002, and I tell potential recruits all the time that there is no other big law firm that I would rather practice at because of the team we’ve built at McDermott – the quality and the character of the people here are bar none. I also enjoy that I am still learning and being challenged, because at McDermott, we are advising clients who are on the cutting edge of innovation and change in the healthcare industry.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?
Two thoughts on this: first, the pandemic accelerated the use of digital tools and we’re seeing some of our clients trying to figure out how to more effectively implement virtual care, get paid for it and grow their telehealth networks. Second, while we have seen continued physician group mergers and acquisitions, we are also seeing some pushback on these consolidation efforts by regulators. For example, here in California, Assembly Bill 1132 (initially introduced in February 2021) would have required California Attorney General review of certain healthcare provider transactions (including transactions involving medical groups) with a value of three [...]

Continue Reading




read more

STAY CONNECTED

TOPICS

ARCHIVES

Chambers 2021 Top Ranked
U.S. News Law Firm of the Year 2022 Health Care Law
LEgal 500 EMEA top tier firm 2021
Legal 500 USA top tier firm