Holland & Knight has expanded its national healthcare practice into Texas with the hiring of three new litigation partners. Eliot (Eli) Burriss has joined in Dallas from McDermott Will & Emery, and Samuel Louis and Justo Mendez have joined in Houston from Clark Hill.
“This is an exciting development for the firm,” said Jeffrey Mittleman, co-leader of the Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Group. “It’s been our goal to expand into the Texas healthcare market in a meaningful way for a while, since many of our clients are making investments there. It makes sense to start with litigation, one of the major strengths of our firm. The combined experience and excellent reputations of Eli, Sam and Justo give us a great foundation to build on.”
“I could not be more pleased to welcome lawyers of the caliber of Eli, Sam and Justo to Holland & Knight,” said Christopher G. Kelly, head of Holland & Knight’s Litigation Section. “In addition to their combined 60 years of experience in complex litigation and counseling of both healthcare and non-healthcare clients alike, these talented and seasoned trial attorneys and counselors join our already formidable group of former prosecutors with deep experience with the DOJ, HHS and OIG. Our client focus is on compliance, but if a client finds itself in the courtroom, you couldn’t ask for a more experienced team.”
Mr. Burriss litigates complex commercial disputes throughout the United States, serving as counsel to global clients in all aspects of litigation. In recent years, he has had a particular emphasis on representing healthcare and managed care organizations in antitrust, ERISA, class actions and other complex matters. He earned a J.D. degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and a B.A. degree from Stanford University.
Mr. Louis’s practice involves providing advice and counsel regarding healthcare regulatory issues, white collar criminal defense, corporate internal investigations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and compliance with federal regulations that govern food and drug distribution. Mr. Louis spent 21 years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Southern District of Texas. He earned a J.D. degree from Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law and a B.B.A. degree from Lamar University.
Mr. Mendez’s practice focuses on representing and advising healthcare providers on regulatory compliance, enforcement and transactional matters. This includes federal white collar criminal defense and navigating government investigations. Mr. Mendez is a former agent for the Office of the Inspector General in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a federal prosecutor for the U.S. attorney’s office in Houston. He earned an LL.M. degree from the University of Houston Law Center, an MHA degree from Tulane University, a J.D. degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of Michigan.
Holland & Knight’s National Healthcare and Life Sciences Team assists the full range of industry participants, from providers, payors and networks to manufacturers, distributors and suppliers, in all aspects of their operations. Holland & Knight is recognized nationally as first-tier firm in Health Care Law in the 2019 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” guide.
