Are you searching for an experienced California healthcare attorney to help form, grow or protect your healthcare business? The Watkins Firm has more than four decades of experience serving the health care and medical business communities here in San Diego, and throughout the State of California.
We provide sound general counsel and legal services from the formation of your healthcare entity through integration of a Management Service Organization or MSO, contracting, healthcare corporate governance and compliance and the timely and cost-effective resolution of associated disputes or lawsuits.
Key Takeaways About What to Look for in an Experienced California Healthcare Attorney:
- California is the most challenging state in which to have a medical practice or healthcare business, especially as an employer.
- Your health care law firm should be able to handle every potential legal aspect of your practice or health care company, from formation and contract development, to governance and compliance, mergers and acquisitions, employment contracts, and employer defense.
- Look for extensive experience across decades in all health care related legal practice areas throughout the state of California.
Your New Healthcare Entity
Selecting your new healthcare entity or developing a constellation of entities to accomplish your goals and objectives is often the first step. Here in California the Professional Corporation and a Management Service Organization are the primary corporate entities for most healthcare applications.
Your experienced California healthcare attorney from the Watkins Firm guides you through the process of planning and implementing the right entity or entities to facilitate the operations you intend to undertake. It is especially important in a healthcare setting to ensure corporate documents such as the shareholders’ agreement and corporate bylaws are carefully tailored to reflect the nature of your company and associated stakeholders.
Mergers and acquisitions are quite common in the medical business and healthcare setting. The Watkins Firm has developed a strong library of proprietary corporate documents, due diligence checklists and associated contracts which facilitate a thorough yet efficient sale or acquisition transaction.
Managing Healthcare Corporate Governance and Compliance
One of the most challenging aspects of a medical or healthcare-related business is the ongoing process of managing health care corporate governance and compliance. Your proven San Diego healthcare attorney from the Watkins Firm helps your corporation(s) to comply with some of the most comprehensive and stringent federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations.
From Stark Law compliance to extensive risks associated with HIPAA regulations and other ethical and legal challenges, managing your governance and compliance strategies and the protections of the corporate veil are a vital part of our general counsel and legal services.
Health Care Contracts and Disputes
We provide well-crafted tailored contracts to ensure a smooth foundation and operational success in every aspect of your healthcare entity. Disputes and lawsuits are an unfortunate but inevitable reality for any San Diego or California healthcare business. Ask about our unique approach to disputes and lawsuits which is specifically designed to resolve these challenges in a timely and cost-efficient manner.
Pro-Tip: “It’s wonderful. It’s complicated, and it is completely involved. Unlike any other law we do. We’ve been doing this since the 1980s, representing doctors and medical entities, and physicians are the smartest people on the planet and they operate in laws that are the most complicated for any business I’ve ever heard of. My first job as an attorney I started working for an attorney named Chris Popov, who’s with me today. And that’s what his practice was, forming, selling and buying healthcare providers, companies, forming medical corporations, PT clinics, MRI centers, psychiatric groups that operated in multiple states, all kinds of complex laws, medical rules and regulations. And it, it took many, many years to master this area of law. I’m still learning.
The medical practice act, business and professions code section 2052 and the California business and professions code section 2400, generally cover a lot of what you can and can’t do. And one of the things you have to understand is who and can’t own a healthcare practice and what types of procedures you can use to facilitate the sale of a healthcare practice, to other licensed professionals. And also, how can we involve other business entities that aren’t licensed professionals in such a transaction?
The California Professional Corporation is a healthcare provider’s only business vehicle. Healthcare providers can’t be limited liability companies. They can’t be these other types of entities. They can be general partners, which is severe liability, or they can be professional healthcare corporations, which shields them from personal liability. To some extent, although a licensed doctor, the one who’s doing the work is always going to be personally liable. That’s why they have to spend so much money on malpractice insurance, but it also is a vehicle where you can bring in other shareholders who qualify. And there are a list of exceptions. Usually most of the owners of a professional corporation providing healthcare have to be licensed healthcare personnel, but there’s a list of exceptions to that law, but it is what doctors use to do business.
Most healthcare businesses have realized the cost savings and profitable advantages of Management Services Organization or MSOs. They can enter into agreements with other corporations or other business service providers. They can buy their own ancillary service providers as long as they comply with all the requirements for that too. So a sole medical practice through their medical corporation can branch out into other forms of business if they know how to do it. And if they work with an experienced lawyer at the Watkins Firm, we can structure everything so that they’re in compliance with Medicare and also the licensing rules and regulations for California, and any other state they’re in.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
Contact a Proven, Experienced California Healthcare Attorney at the Watkins Firm Today
Are you searching for a proven, experienced California healthcare attorney who can provide insightful and effective counsel and legal services throughout the life of your health care-related entity? We invite you to review our Podcasts “Episode 7: Medical Practices and Healthcare Businesses, Episode 30 – Management Services Organizations or MSOs, and Episode 37 – Medical Practice and Healthcare Governance and Compliance,” as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.
Meet Daniel Watkins:
Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares deeply about what others are going through. Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems. He contributes his insights candidly and constructively.
Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.
Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a trusted litigation strategist and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.
He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.
THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR
Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.
In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.
