McDermott HealthEx 2025

Bernard (Bernie) P. Grondin focuses on representing private equity funds, strategic investors, and founders/owners-operators in complex corporate transactions, including leverage buyouts, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), debt and equity investments and joint ventures. Bernie also has extensive experience advising buyers, sellers, founders and joint ventures partners in negotiating, documenting, facilitating and consummating transactions involving health care companies. He also concentrates on representing public and private corporations and other entities in connection with M&A, spin-offs, joint ventures, liquidity events and general corporate governance. In addition, he has represented issuers, including blank check companies, in initial public offerings and acted as corporate counsel to publicly trade companies.

Bernie speaks regularly at the Firm's industry and legal symposia on a range of subjects, including trends in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry, margin sustainability and growth strategies, effective supply management and structuring health care deals.

Travis Jackson advises leading hospitals, health systems, and academic medical centers on their most complex and innovative mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, and joint ventures. He helps both for-profit and nonprofit healthcare organizations bring strategic transactions to market in a way that strengthens operations, improves care delivery, and supports physician and community relationships – while remaining compliant and cost-effective.

Travis has significant experience structuring, negotiating, and implementing transactions designed to advance physician integration, expand clinical offerings, and enhance brand presence. He brings a detailed understanding of federal healthcare reform initiatives, evolving transaction trends, healthcare corporate governance, and other legal issues that shape the business of healthcare.

With deep knowledge of federal tax matters and the distinct challenges facing tax-exempt organizations, Travis is a trusted partner to nonprofit providers navigating the complex state and federal requirements that govern their operations and strategic growth.

Advises clients on telehealth, remote patient monitoring, AI-enabled tools, consumer wellness and other virtual care or digital health companies on product development, compliance, commercialization, and reimbursement strategies

Guides clients on structuring compliant care delivery models, navigating multi-state licensure, and advising on fraud and abuse, data privacy, cybersecurity, and other key areas

Advises mail order, retail and other types of pharmacies, suppliers and manufacturers on partnerships with healthcare companies and related compliance considerations

Develops compliance frameworks for consumer wellness programs and mobile health solutions

Leads retailers, tech companies and other non-healthcare companies through their development and launch of healthcare products or offerings

Structures provider networks and strategic collaborations among hospitals, health centers, and physicians

Counsels investors on healthcare trends, reimbursement opportunities and changes in laws to assist with designing their investment strategies

Kate McDonald represents clients across the healthcare industry on complex regulatory matters and high-stakes mergers and acquisitions, affiliations and other investments. She delivers strategic advice on federal and state laws applicable to health insurers and HMOs, including the downstream implications for their provider organizations and vendors, as well as the reimbursement landscape of federal healthcare programs.

Kate’s clients rely on her extensive experience navigating the Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and Medicaid managed care programs. She partners with health plans, provider organizations, technology start-ups, private equity funds and retailers to benchmark risks, solve regulatory challenges and structure transactions, particularly those that involve federal and state healthcare programs. As payors and providers continue to realign in today’s market, Kate offers nuanced insights into the unique obstacles and opportunities facing companies at the intersection of these two worlds. She helps innovative companies navigate state risk-bearing regulations, drafts and negotiates agreements with complex reimbursement structures and regulatory implications, and advises healthcare companies and private equity funds on investments in highly regulated segments of the healthcare market.

Kate’s healthcare regulatory experience also includes deep insights into DC certificate of need (CON) laws. She helps providers obtain CON approval for the introduction and expansion of healthcare services, changes in ownership, capital expenditures, and closure of healthcare services or facilities in Washington, DC.

Kate is a contributing author to Regulation of Medicare Part D Plans (Thomson Reuters, 2019 edition) and Thomson Reuters Health Law Handbook (2017 edition). She speaks regularly at healthcare industry events, including the Wall Street Journal Health Forum, American Health Lawyers Association Institute for Health Plan Counsel, Blue Cross Blue Shield National Summit, Health Care Compliance Association Managed Care Compliance Conference, and Medicaid Managed Care Congress. Kate was the first recipient of the McDermott Will & Emery Client Service Award (2019).

Leads healthcare and life sciences M&A transactions across a broad array of healthcare sectors

Represents healthcare private equity funds with fully integrated transactional, finance, and regulatory counsel

Structures large physician practice roll-ups and MSO platforms across specialties, including emerging non-healthcare professional services models

Leads regulatory and transactional matters that shape the health and life sciences landscape

Represents private capital investors across buy-side and sell-side dealmaking in the sector

Helps clients structure innovative strategies with business-focused guidance across borders, and across health and life sciences subsectors