McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Brad Dennis represents a broad range of healthcare organizations, with a particular focus on complex transactions involving health systems, health plans, innovative joint ventures, and value-based care models. He works with health systems, health plans, investors, and other providers to design and execute deals that advance clinical, financial, and strategic objectives in the evolving healthcare ecosystem.

In the hospital sector, Brad advises nonprofit and for-profit health systems and academic medical centers on acquisitions, divestitures, affiliations, and joint ventures. He is known for balancing governance, regulatory, and business considerations in ways that keep deals moving and create durable partnerships.

Brad centers a significant portion of his practice  on healthcare joint ventures. He has extensive experience structuring and negotiating hospital service line partnerships, joint ventures, and other multiparty collaborations involving health systems, health plans, and for-profit platforms. He is recognized for navigating complex investment, governance, and regulatory issues to align diverse stakeholders and support growth.

In the managed care space, Brad advises on health plan acquisitions; joint ventures; and the development of provider-sponsored health plans, risk-bearing entities, and value-based care “enabler” models. He is at the forefront of transactions that bring providers and payers together, helping organizations evaluate risk, align incentives, and advance sustainable value-based strategies.

Clients rely on Brad for his practical decision-making, deep industry insight, and ability to deliver innovative solutions that bridge business and clinical priorities. He is a trusted advisor in the boardroom and at the deal table, helping organizations make confident decisions in transactions that reshape markets and define the next generation of healthcare models.

Ashley Fischer advises clients across all sectors of the healthcare industry on their most critical transactions and collaborations. Her health antitrust practice makes her a valuable partner to healthcare businesses as they work to expand and pursue their strategic business initiatives.

Ashley routinely counsels on potential healthcare transactions and has successfully defended numerous provider mergers and competitor collaborations through federal and state antitrust enforcement agency review. Her counsel, with respect to the antitrust implications of the formation and operation of joint ventures and competitor collaborations, including managed care contracting networks such as clinically integrated networks (CINs), accountable care organizations (ACOs) and independent practice associations (IPAs), is highly sought-after.

Ashley also counsels health industry clients on ongoing conduct and compliance matters, including managed care contracting practices, exclusive services agreements, restrictive covenants, integrated delivery systems and vertical integration, and participation in information exchanges.

Ashley is partner-in-charge of the firm’s Health Practice Group in Chicago. Previously, she served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee and as a vice chair of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Antitrust Practice Group.

Sumaya M. Noush maintains a corporate, transactional, and regulatory practice focused on the representation of hospitals and health systems. She has significant experience with innovative and high-stakes strategic corporate transactions that require skilled navigation of complex regulatory, financial, and operational challenges, including negotiations with federal and state regulators.

Sumaya works closely with clients as they explore strategies for the future health of their communities, missions, and business goals. With a deep understanding of the unique issues facing hospitals and health systems today, she also regularly advises clients on day-to-day operational matters and recent regulatory developments.

Prior to joining McDermott Will & Schulte, Sumaya was a lawyer at a large national firm, a visiting scholar at The Hastings Center, and an instructor and research fellow at Yale University’s Sherwin B. Nuland Summer Institute in Bioethics. During law school, she served as a law clerk for a nationally recognized health law practice, a legal intern at a regional community hospital, a client advocate and social policy advocate at Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s Health Justice Project, and a published author and managing and coordinating editor for the Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences.