Morgan Lewis continues the significant expansion of its healthcare and litigation teams with the announcement today of three new partners in Houston—B. Scott McBride, John Petrelli, and Gregory N. Etzel—as well as healthcare of counsel Summer Swallow, two additional healthcare associates, and a senior health policy analyst. This announcement follows the arrival of two healthcare partners in November, adding nine healthcare team members to Morgan Lewis’s elite group delivering regulatory, transactional, litigation, and government investigations services to hospitals, health systems, and other medical providers.
Mr. McBride and Mr. Petrelli, who join the firm today, both practiced at a large US law firm in Houston with the two recently arriving partners, Susan Feigin Harris and Donna S. Clark. Mr. Etzel, who will follow in the new year, is vice president of legal affairs at the pioneering University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. This new team considerably strengthens Morgan Lewis’s already preeminent group of healthcare lawyers in Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
“We are very excited to welcome this established group of healthcare professionals to our team,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “Their impressive backgrounds, both in private practice and in-house within a prestigious healthcare delivery system, perfectly complement our accomplished bench of healthcare transactional, regulatory, and litigation lawyers.”
Mr. McBride, a co-leader of his former law firm’s healthcare practice, is Chambers ranked and concentrates on compliance and enforcement issues for all types of healthcare providers. His practice focuses on False Claims Act litigation, internal and external investigations, and regulatory enforcement proceedings. He also regularly counsels clients on matters related to Medicare and Medicaid billing compliance, fraud and abuse, corporate oversight, self-disclosures, and regulatory appeals under federal and state programs.
Mr. Petrelli is a key member of the healthcare team and its work on False Claims Act litigation, as well as state, federal, and compliance investigations. In addition to advising healthcare clients, he handles complex commercial and white collar matters across other industries, notably energy, government contracting, and transportation. He has represented clients extensively in trials, arbitrations, and prelitigation dispute resolution matters.
Mr. Etzel, prior to joining The University of Texas Medical Branch’s legal staff in 2013, had practiced for 18 years in global law firms, including with Ms. Clark, Ms. Harris, and Mr. McBride, during which time he focused primarily on representing hospitals and other providers regarding regulatory matters and payment disputes. He also has represented healthcare clients in False Claims Act matters, assisting providers in risk assessments, investigations, and voluntary disclosures and repayment of identified healthcare overpayments.
Ms. Swallow concentrates her practice on the healthcare industry with a focus on regulatory and compliance issues. She represents and advises hospitals, health systems, physician groups, and other healthcare clients, advising them regarding Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payor reimbursement, coverage matters, and payment disputes.
“The members of this multifaceted team with national practices and reputations have been the go-to advisers to healthcare clients navigating the evolving complexities governing the healthcare system,” said Howard J. Young, who leads the Morgan Lewis healthcare practice. “We look forward to working with our new colleagues to continue to deliver innovative solutions for our healthcare and life science clients.”
Morgan Lewis has been ranked as the #1 largest healthcare law firm in the United States for the last two years, according to Modern Healthcare. In the four consecutive prior years (2012–2015), Morgan Lewis was ranked among the top five largest healthcare law firms.
Morgan Lewis provides sophisticated, integrated, and cost-effective counsel to businesses and organizations across the full spectrum of the healthcare industry. The firm’s healthcare provider clients include hospitals and health systems; long-term care, home health, and hospice providers; retail and specialty pharmacies; behavioral health providers; suppliers; distributors; physician practices; medical societies; and private equity and venture capital investors, as well as the vendors that support the healthcare industry.
Source: www.morganlewis.com
