Epstein Becker Green (“EBG”) is pleased to announce that it has added a group of former Ropes & Gray—and, most recently, Verrill Dana—attorneys with noteworthy life sciences, biotechnology, health care, and academic and clinical research experience to strengthen EBG’s nationwide health care and life sciences capabilities. To date, the team includes partners Kate Gallin Heffernan, Andrew P. Rusczek, Sarah V. Ferranti, Emily Chi Fogler, and Sarah L. Trautz, as well as associates Marylana Saadeh Helou and Drew S. Douglas-Steele.
Mr. Rusczek was chair of Verrill Dana’s Health Care & Life Sciences Group. He provides regulatory and compliance advice to a broad range of clients, including hospitals, health plans, and pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology companies. Additionally, he has a strong understanding of federal anti-kickback statute compliance, the Stark Law, and other fraud and abuse laws, such as in the context of product discount arrangements, relationships with physicians, and health care transactions. He has gained a strong understanding of the operational aspects and business of pharmaceutical and device companies through prior on-site placements at three different companies. Mr. Rusczek graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. While attending the University of Pennsylvania (“UPenn”) Law School, Mr. Rusczek earned a Master of Bioethics from UPenn School of Medicine to better assist future clients with ethical issues involved with human subjects research.
Ms. Heffernan was vice chair of Verrill Dana’s Health Care & Life Sciences Group and chair of its Academic and Clinical Research Group. She often advises academic medical centers, universities, research institutes, start-up companies, and other research stakeholders on a comprehensive range of issues affecting biomedical research, including the protection of human subjects, research compliance and misconduct investigations, conflicts of interest in research, research collaborations and contracting, the development and use of research biorepositories and databases, Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) requirements for clinical trials and access to investigational products, the privacy of research subjects’ information, and special challenges in applying the law to emerging areas of scientific innovation. Ms. Heffernan is involved with policy and thought development on the national and international level. Serving on a panel appointed to advise the Health Resources and Services Administration, she contributed to a proposed ethical framework for the conduct and oversight of organ donor intervention trials, which was endorsed in a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report. Ms. Heffernan graduated from New York University School of Law and Georgetown University, and completed a competitive fellowship in biomedical ethics at Harvard Medical School to expand her appreciation of the challenging issues her clients navigate.
Ms. Ferranti focuses her practice on advising pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, academic medical centers, and research institutions on clinical and scientific research regulatory issues, structuring research collaborations, and implementing clinical trials. She also counsels health care providers on regulatory matters, including compliance with state and federal privacy laws and fraud and abuse laws, and participation in value-based care models. Ms. Ferranti received a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif, and graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University.
Ms. Fogler assists academic medical centers, hospitals, universities, Institutional Review Boards, pharmaceutical and device companies, insurance providers, and other health care and research organizations with a wide array of human research matters. Her extensive prior experience as senior in-house counsel for human research matters for a large Boston health system gives her a deep “insider’s” understanding of the challenges faced by health care and research organizations, as well as a practical perspective in providing advice. Ms. Fogler graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an Executive Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and summa cum laude from Williams College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Ms. Trautz provides a broad range of transactional and regulatory advice to clients in the health care industry, with a focus on issues affecting academic medical centers, universities, hospitals, and other providers. She frequently advises clients on compliance with the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute, HIPAA, state and federal licensure issues, human subjects research, and federal grants compliance. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was named a member of the Order of the Coif, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.
“Boston is one of the country’s most vibrant health care markets and a hub for life sciences innovation,” said Mark Lutes, Chair of EBG’s Board of Directors. “The opportunity to link this group’s knowledge and experience in clinical research with EBG’s strong FDA and biotechnology commercialization capabilities will enhance our level of service to biotechnology and medical device services nationwide and most particularly within Boston’s renowned life sciences corridor. EBG also focuses on serving the labor, employment, workforce management, and litigation needs of clients in the life sciences and other industries, and we expect growth in Boston beyond the strong foundation of Kate, Andy, and their team.”
In recent months, in addition to this group of attorneys, EBG has grown its life sciences capabilities with several hires, including Delia A. Deschaine in Washington, DC; Julie Watson Lampley, Machelle Dunavant Shields, and Kathy Doelling in Tennessee; and Lauren Sullivan in Connecticut.
“As the health care and life sciences industries continue to grow exponentially, they are predictably navigating many unknowns,” said Ms. Heffernan. “The demand for sophisticated regulatory counsel to guide clients in compliant innovation has continued to accelerate, and even more so during the current COVID-19 pandemic. We are thrilled to join the EBG family and to continue to serve our clients through EBG’s exceptional national platform. We hope that the experience we bring practicing at the intersection of law and scientific innovation will further evolve one of strongest health care practices in the country.”
“The opportunity for us to join such a well-respected firm—one with such a deep understanding of all facets of health care and life sciences, one that is advancing the legal and health care industries during such a critical time in society, and one that is, simply put, a leader in providing strategic advice to the health care industry—is exciting,” said Mr. Rusczek.
About Epstein Becker Green
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., is a national law firm with a primary focus on health care and life sciences; employment, labor, and workforce management; and litigation and business disputes. Founded in 1973 as an industry-focused firm, Epstein Becker Green has decades of experience serving clients in health care, financial services, retail, hospitality, and technology, among other industries, representing entities from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Operating in locations throughout the United States and supporting domestic and multinational clients, the firm’s attorneys are committed to uncompromising client service and legal excellence. For more information, visit www.ebglaw.com.
