Health care has grown beyond the prevention, treatment, and management of medical conditions by health professionals. It has become an industry where risk management strategies, compliance with government regulations, and business management practices are as important as providing exemplary patient care.

To meet the diverse needs of individuals and businesses that make up this expanding industry, Clark, Thomas & Winters has assembled an interdisciplinary group of attorneys with the knowledge and experience to assist clients in handling business, litigation, and regulatory health care issues.

Whether helping launch a new business venture, defending a medical malpractice suit, or dealing with a regulatory matter, we never lose sight of the fact that at the heart of matters are individuals who are depending on us to help them overcome challenges that stand between them and providing health care solutions that serve everyone’s best interests.

In order to stay attuned to the latest industry developments, legal trends, and legislative action, our attorneys are active members of several health care related professional organizations, including:

American Health Lawyers Association
Health Information Management Systems Society
Health law sections of the Texas, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas bar associations
Private Providers Association of Texas
Texas Assisted Living Association
Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
Texas Geriatric Society
Texas Health Care Association
Texas Medical Directors Association

FOCUS AREAS

Business Matters

We assist clients in structuring, negotiating, and implementing business transactions, including the choice of entity, asset purchases and sales, conversions and liquidations, mergers and acquisitions, practice start-up or wind downs, formation or dissolution of physician practice groups, project financing, private equity investment transactions, joint ventures, partnership and strategic alliance formations, reorganizations, and bankruptcies.

Credentialing

Our attorneys represent clients before certification and licensing authorities in investigations, peer review proceedings, and licensure.

Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution

When conflicts arise with vendors, service providers, landlords, partners, or employees, our attorneys understand the significance of providing timely and cost-efficient solutions to avoid protracted legal battles. Our litigators serve as trusted advisors to health care industry clients, including individuals, small businesses, start-ups, mid-size, and large companies, with aggressive and cost-effective representation in matters of risk management, mediation and binding arbitration, pre-litigation strategy, trial, and appeal. When disputes arise, our attorneys have the knowledge and experience to prosecute, defend, and appeal complex civil cases in state and federal courts and before various regulatory authorities across the state of Texas and throughout the United States.

Employee Benefits/ERISA

Our experienced employee benefits/ERISA attorneys counsel clients on tax-qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, including defined benefit pension plans, defined contribution plans such as IRC §401(k), profit sharing, and money purchase plans, IRC §457(b) eligible deferred compensation plans, and §457(f) ineligible deferred compensation plans; welfare benefit plans, including cafeteria plans and non-taxable fringe benefits; and executive compensation planning. Assistance with plan design and drafting services; advice concerning administration, taxation of contributions, plan investments and distributions, and plan amendments; advice and representation concerning participant rights and regulatory compliance; and advice and representation concerning service provider agreements, fund investments, participant claims, and related matters.

Equipment

Our business law attorneys provide guidance to business owners and managers regarding equipment lease or purchase negotiations and documentation as well as review and negotiation of capital leases.

Finance

When capital is needed, our attorneys represent borrowers in complex commercial financial transactions, including financing of corporate and business acquisitions. We have advised both private and governmental clients about employee and employment tax issues. We are familiar with integral part and instrumentality tax status; we have also worked extensively with the IRS on the tax issues and organizational structure associated with such status.

HMOs

We have extensive experience representing HMOs in Texas, including establishing the HMOs affiliated with the Methodist Hospital System in Houston and the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. Additionally, we have represented HMOs in various day-to-day operational issues.

HIPAA & HIT

We help clients understand and implement requirements related to the confidentiality of health information in order to be in compliance. Our experience includes drafting and amending policy and procedure manuals; preparing forms for reporting and corrective action, record requests, accounting, disclosure, authorizations, notice of privacy practices, and required contracts; preparing and reviewing business associate and other contracts; providing employee and management training; reviewing and counseling on record requests; working with e-health security professionals; and presenting various HIPAA issues in speaking engagements to industry groups.

Human Resources and Employment Law

Our employment attorneys work with clients to prevent costly litigation through risk prevention strategies such as supervisor training, employment audits, and employee handbook and policy reviews. We also advise clients on day-to-day issues such as discipline, discharge, medical leave, policies and procedures, investigations, and unemployment claims. Should a conflict arise, as they sometimes do, we are experienced in handling lawsuits involving removal of physicians from practices, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, FMLA, ADA, covenants not to compete, employment contracts, and confidentiality/trade secret issues.

Medical Malpractice Defense and Risk Management

We work with clients to develop strong and cost-effective defense and risk management strategies in medical malpractice litigation. This approach focuses on keeping our clients involved in the important decision-making affecting the development of a strong defense as well as early and proactive development and investigation of the case in order to identify potentially weak areas, dangerous witnesses, and bad facts – before they adversely impact settlement discussions or courtroom verdicts. If the case goes to trial, we go in with a clear objective in mind – obtaining the best possible outcome for our client.

Medical Staff

We assist hospitals in developing and enforcing medical staff bylaws. Our experience includes both representing the hospital in medical staff proceedings at the hospital and defending hospitals in actions brought by excluded physicians.

Medicare and Medicaid

Our attorneys advise clients on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement issues and provide representation in investigations, audits, and appeals involving state and federal reimbursement recovery actions, fraud and abuse actions, program exclusion proceedings, and private reimbursement actions.

Real Estate

We assist clients in navigating the intricacies of a broad range of commercial real estate transactions and the individual aspects of these transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, financing, sales, leases, title and survey, land development, easements, land use, workouts, foreclosures, opinion letters, equity participations, and a variety of other real estate topics.

Regulatory

Working with clients in one of the most regulated industries in America prompts our attorneys to stay in daily contact with key personnel in state and federal regulatory agencies, where ever–changing rules and informal policies directly impact our clients’ business and staff. Through our access to the regulatory process, we are able to offer clients a view into the mindset and rationale behind regulatory changes. This allows our clients to formulate marketing and business practices that are both aggressive and prudent. Our clients regularly call on us for assistance with maintaining compliance, simplifying the hearing process, and implementing regulatory policies, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark II, the False Claims Act, privacy and security issues under the HIPAA, and FDA licensing.

Tax

Whether they are serving the interest of an individual, business, or corporation, the firm's tax attorneys work closely with clients to analyze their unique issues and needs in order to design and implement a practical solution that is tax efficient. Our attorneys’ ability to understand the complexities of the tax code enables them to skillfully serve the local, state, and federal tax planning aspects of individual business clients, partnerships, associations, limited liability companies, and publicly traded or private companies. Should a controversy arise, as they sometimes do, our attorneys are experienced and prepared to represent taxpayers in dispute resolution proceedings. On an individual level, our tax attorneys regularly provide advice and planning services to high net worth clients seeking generation planning, asset protection, and wealth preservation strategies.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCES

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS

ARTICLES