Hooper, Lundy & Bookman Elevates Eight Partners

“We congratulate these individuals, who exemplify the best of Hooper, Lundy & Bookman’s strengths, and reflect the excellence and breadth of our health care provider practice,” said Managing Shareholder Mark Reagan. “They provide legal services of the highest quality and their elevation reflects our continuing commitment to growing our next generation of leaders. Moreover, the extraordinary talent among our new partners supports our view that prioritizing diversity and inclusion at the senior levels of the firm ensures that we can provide our clients with the superior legal services and vision they expect.”

The following individuals were offered equity partnership:

Nina Marsden (Los Angeles Office) – Nina is the chair of the firm’s COVID-19 Task Force and practices in the firm’s Regulatory Department, advising a variety of providers, including hospitals, pharmacies, physician groups, and laboratories on a range of complex regulatory matters, from licensure and certification and regulatory compliance to operational issues and ownership changes. In her national practice, she manages the regulatory processes associated with multi-state sales, mergers, and acquisitions of health care providers, carefully analyzing and addressing state and federal regulatory requirements while thoughtfully considering clients’ real-time operational issues. In her California practice, she has extensive expertise in navigating the state’s complex regulatory landscape and has longstanding experience in dealing with state regulatory agencies such as the California Department of Public Health and the California State Board of Pharmacy. Nina also advises clients on complex Medicare reimbursement issues and regularly handles appeals before the Provider Reimbursement Review Board.

David Schumacher (Boston Office) – David is co-chair of the firm’s Fraud & Abuse Practice Group. He focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense and internal investigations in the health care space. A trial lawyer, David defends hospital systems, pharmaceutical companies, medical practices, pharmacies, laboratories and individuals in a wide range of health care enforcement actions. David was previously an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Massachusetts, where he served as deputy chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit. During his eight-year tenure as a federal prosecutor, he investigated some of the largest and most complicated health care fraud cases in the country, including cases involving pharmaceutical and medical device companies, home health care organizations, medical equipment companies, laboratories, physicians, and other health care providers, in cases involving violations of the federal health care fraud statute, False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Law, HIPAA criminal violations, and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Ruby Wood (San Francisco Office) – Ruby is co-chair of the firm’s Medical Staff Practice Group. She represents multi-institutional health systems, hospitals and/or their medical staffs, and medical groups in a variety of matters. These include internal operations and self-governance; bylaws, rules and regulations and policies; The Joint Commission and other regulatory compliance; credentialing and peer review matters; internal investigations and hearings; HIPAA issues; exclusive contracting and closed departments; and the application of the protections afforded to medical staffs under state and federal law (with an emphasis on California Evidence Code section 1157 protection). Her practice also includes matters related to representation in connection with healthcare litigation encompassing medical staff issues, including writ proceedings, subpoena responses, retaliation claims and related allegations. Ruby also advises clients on compliance and fair procedure considerations in connection with medical staff practices and procedures, including investigations and risk assessment. She has served as lead counsel in numerous medical staff hearings and litigation matters.

The following individuals were promoted to partner:

Kelly Carroll (Washington, D.C. Office) – Kelly is a member of the firm’s Regulatory Department and Fraud & Abuse Practice Group. She assists health care providers, including hospitals, physicians, and long-term care providers, with a broad range of regulatory compliance, reimbursement, and fraud and abuse matters. Her practice focuses on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, and she regularly represents clients in reimbursement disputes before the Provider Reimbursement Review Board and in federal and state courts. In addition, she advises health care providers and state agencies on matters involving federal funding of state health care programs and disputes with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Kelly also provides guidance on legal and ethical issues relating to informed consent and clinical research.

Bridget Gordon (Los Angeles Office) – Bridget is a member of the Litigation Department, Managed Care Practice Group, and the Fraud & Abuse Practice Group. Her practice comprises a wide range of matters on behalf of hospitals, physicians, long-term care facilities, and other health care providers, with a focus on managed care litigation matters, as well as False Claims Act litigation. She has represented a variety of healthcare providers in both contracted and non-contracted managed care contexts, seeking to ensure providers are compensated appropriately for the valuable healthcare services they provide. She also frequently provides guidance for internal investigations, overpayment and recoupment audits, EHR vendor disputes, and managed care contracting negotiation and reviews.

Jordan Kearney (San Francisco Office) – Jordan is a member of the firm’s Fraud & Abuse Practice Group. She provides regulatory and litigation counseling for a range of providers, including hospitals, long-term care providers, behavioral health providers, and home health and hospice companies. Her practice focuses on the defense of healthcare providers in government investigations and audits, including federal and state False Claims Act actions, actions under the California Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, and audits by Unified Program Integrity Contractors (UPICs). Jordan also regularly counsels providers on internal investigations of potential overpayments and any subsequent obligations to report and return under the 60-Day Rule.

Alicia Macklin (Los Angeles Office) – Alicia is recognized for her expertise in behavioral health law and EMTALA. Alicia regularly advises behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment providers on a broad range of legal and compliance issues, including Federal and California privacy and confidentiality requirements, Medicare and Medi-Cal reimbursement, county mental health plan contracting, and involuntary civil commitment under the LPS Act (Lanterman-Petris-Short Act). She also provides regulatory advice to hospitals, handling EMTALA investigations, compliance, training and counseling. Alicia assists clients with a broad range of regulatory and reimbursement matters and litigation, including Medicare and Medi-Cal appeals and medical staff issues. She previously clerked for the Honorable John A. Kronstadt, and she earned her MPH from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, where she currently co-teaches a graduate-level course in healthcare law. She is also passionate about understanding the social determinants of health, and how law can be used to further health equity.

Robert Miller (Los Angeles Office) – Robert is co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Financial Restructuring Group and a member of the firm’s Business Department and Digital Health Task Force. He advises a wide variety of health care companies on corporate and regulatory issues. Recognized for his creative problem-solving and unusually broad-based experience in both business and health law, Robert advocates for clients from Hawaii to Maine, including health systems, hospitals, technology companies, physician groups, management organizations, and investors in health care businesses. Clients turn to him when they’re looking to gain solid commercial outcomes and drive their business goals forward through legal processes.

About Hooper, Lundy & Bookman: Founded in 1987, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman PC is the largest law firm in the country dedicated solely to the representation of health care providers and suppliers. With offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Denver, and clients in all 50 states, we meet the business, litigation, regulatory, and government relations needs of a broad array of health care providers―ranging from the largest national health care organizations to community hospitals and individual physician practices. We are pleased to be ranked by Chambers USA as Tier One: Health Care, California, and #1 for the West Region on the ABA Health Law Section’s 7th Annual “Regional Law Firm Recognition Top 10 List.”