McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Jayda Greco works at the intersection of healthcare regulatory, privacy and compliance, product counseling and marketing law, with particular emphasis on digital health products and services. Often working cross-functionally with stakeholders in sales, finance, marketing and product, Jayda is adept at devising creative and practical legal solutions for digital health initiatives to meet business objectives.

Jayda has a solid background in product development and the protection of intellectual property, gained from her years as in-house counsel for a national virtual care company, where she advised cross-functional groups of product managers and engineers on the creation and implementation of new features and functionality within iOS, Android and web platforms, as well as the risks and liabilities of proposed commercial models and transactions. She has a keen understanding of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, trademark, copyright and state consumer protection and marketing laws related to medical services and pharmaceuticals. She provides guidance on collateral and social media influencer campaigns, as well as drafting internal guidance and training on key issues to help her client maximize their marketing success while remaining in compliance with the complex healthcare and life sciences marketing and advertising regulations.

Jayda advises healthcare clients on compliance with HIPAA, CCPA as well as state and data breach laws where they converge with corporate transactions. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US). Jayda also evaluates new business opportunities for her clients, examining health regulatory, privacy implications and similar concerns within the healthcare and consumer technology landscape at the federal and state level.

Larry C. Guess maintains a general health industry practice, focusing on transactional and regulatory matters. He focuses on representing private equity firms and platform companies, hospitals, health systems and life science companies. Larry has experience with a variety of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, affiliation and product licensing arrangements. He also provides guidance on regulatory issues such as licensure, corporate practice of medicine, dentistry, physical and speech therapy, and compliance with Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Previously, Larry spent more than a decade in the healthcare industry, marketing pharmaceuticals and medical devices for several Fortune 500 companies. During this time, he brought five multimillion-dollar products to market in major hospital systems across the United States. While in law school, he served as chair of the Accelerated Juris Doctor Board Association. While earning his Master of Business Administration, he served as chair of the Healthcare and Biotech Club, and the Black Management Association.

Kristen O’Brien is an accomplished healthcare executive with a deep understanding of regulatory advocacy and healthcare policy efforts.

Kristen offers a strong background and a keen eye for solutions to barriers and challenges impacting healthcare clients. With more than 10 years of experience, her work focuses on implementing new laws through the rulemaking process, as well as working with relevant agency officials to develop and improve agency guidance.

Kristen recently served as Principal of the Health Industry Policy and Regulatory Practice Group at a law and lobbying firm where she provided representation for hospital systems, physician practices, medical device companies, digital health companies and trade associations. She has extensive experience in providing analysis and counsel related to government healthcare payment programs under Medicare and Medicaid. She also has extensive knowledge of navigating the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and others.

Previously, Kristen provided legislative and regulatory legal analysis as a senior attorney for the American Medical Association. Additionally, Kristen served on the staff of former Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), focusing on health and environmental issues, as well as financial reform.

Rodney Whitlock is a Vice President at McDermott+. With nearly 25 years of experience, Rodney possesses and offers clients the kind of knowledge that is uniquely available to those who have drafted and advanced legislation. He strategically guides clients through dense Medicare and Medicaid issues that have significant business impact.

While working in Congress, Rodney served as former US Representative Charlie Norwood’s (R-GA) health policy director where he managed the Patients’ Bill of Rights (S.1890), among other notable health policy matters. Rodney then went on to serve Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in the Senate. He first joined the Senate Finance Committee Staff as a health policy advisor to Chairman Grassley, and ultimately joined the Senator’s personal office as health policy director. During his time in the Senate, Rodney served as the lead Republican staffer for Medicaid legislation from 2005 to 2010, and continued to serve Senator Grassley on all health-related issues through 2015. During his time in the Senate, Rodney helped staff Republicans in the Senate on such prominent and important legislation as the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2007 and 2009 and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

For the last 20 years, Rodney has been an adjunct faculty member at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management, and the Graduate School of Political Management's Department of Legislative Affairs. Hundreds of students have taken Rodney's courses and have gone on to pursue careers in Washington, DC.

Focused on compliance, transactions and sector-specific counseling, Amanda Enyeart works with her clients to deploy digital health technology in compliance with a wide range of health law regulations. She is particularly concentrated on telehealth, fraud and abuse, information technology, data strategies and digital health matters. She provides counsel on all aspects of telehealth and other healthcare delivery modalities, advising on the complex patchwork of state-by-state regulatory issues, including practitioner licensure, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, compliance with the federal Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute, and state fraud and abuse laws.

Amanda advises healthcare industry clients, including hospitals and health systems, digital health companies, telehealth providers and retail health clinics, on all aspects of software licenses, as well as other agreements, for the acquisition of electronic health record (EHR) systems and other mission critical health information technology. Amanda also counsels healthcare clients, including covered entities and business associates, regarding compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other federal and state privacy, security and breach notification laws.

On the transactional front, Amanda is a valuable resource to companies as they structure business deals and negotiate technology agreements. She is experienced acting on behalf of both technology providers and the healthcare organizations that are their customers. She also conducts specialized due diligence in various health industry areas, including hospitals and health systems, and digital health companies and telehealth companies. In addition, Amanda also regularly acts as counsel in healthcare IT transactional matters concerning telehealth and other mission-critical health information and data-centered technologies.

Matt Perreault advises healthcare organizations on complex transactions, sophisticated managed care arrangements, and related fraud and abuse matters. He represents accountable care organizations (ACOs); diverse provider, risk intermediary, care management and provider enablement organizations; health plans; and investors on a wide range of value-based care agreements, including shared savings, bundled payments, downside risk and capitation arrangements.

Matt serves as a strategic advisor to ACOs, independent physician associates (IPAs), managed care networks, integrated delivery networks and other healthcare providers, including hospitals and health systems, specialty providers, physician practices and innovative primary care organizations, on acquisitions, affiliations, reorganizations and other transactions. He also provides guidance on regulatory and fraud and abuse matters related to these transactions and contractual arrangements, including the physician self-referral law (Stark Law), the Anti-Kickback Statute, and general healthcare law and compliance matters.

Prior to joining McDermott Will & Schulte, Matt was deputy general counsel of a large national private health system, where he served as the lead lawyer for its managed care network, multi-specialty physician practice and hospital physician contracting throughout the system.

Joseph (Joe) M. Parise advises healthcare clients on a wide range of transactional and regulatory matters across the United States. He serves as counsel to private equity firms and their portfolio companies, physician practices, practice management companies, behavioral health providers, hospitals and health systems.

Joe has experience executing a variety of transactions within the healthcare industry, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, affiliations and divestitures. He also works with clients to navigate the complex strategic and regulatory issues associated with those transactions.

He also provides guidance to clients on sector-specific regulatory issues including with respect to the practice of medicine, dentistry and physical therapy, state licensure and certificate of need, behavioral health and behavior analysis, and pharmacy and clinical laboratory matters.

Jiayan Chen is an industry leader on matters relating to health data, technology and research. She represents clients on regulatory and compliance matters, commercial transactions, and investments and acquisitions that require deep knowledge of privacy, data strategies, artificial intelligence (AI) and other healthcare technologies, or research compliance. Clients turn to Jiayan for her practical, industry-informed guidance as they seek to develop, improve, deploy, or acquire solutions or businesses that harness the power of data or technology. Jiayan has extensive experience advising on investments and acquisitions in the life sciences sector, particularly with respect to businesses that conduct clinical research or offer solutions designed to accelerate research or research recruitment. Her practice includes working with patient safety organizations (PSOs) on listing applications, compliance, and strategies for appropriately creating and sharing patient safety work product.

Jiayan’s subject matter and industry insights come from advising a broad range of clients, including AI and other healthcare technology companies; data companies; hospitals and health systems; academic medical centers; genetics companies; digital health companies; PSOs; drug, device, and biotech companies; private equity funds; and platform companies.

Jiayan regularly counsels clients on data privacy requirements under US federal and state privacy law, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and various state genetic, health information, and consumer privacy laws. She works with clients on mapping and implementing data use and sharing strategies with appropriate data governance and programmatic safeguards. Well before the proliferation of generative AI, Jiayan was working with AI developers and deployers on compliance with privacy and research laws, efforts to leverage data to train and validate AI tools, and transactions involving the licensing of AI tools and AI-enabled platforms. These days, Jiayan also guides clients in developing AI governance and advises on proposed regulatory and legislative changes impacting AI.

Jiayan represents clients on a wide array of matters related to biomedical research, including negotiating the full range of agreements impacting research, building research compliance infrastructure, preparing protocols and informed consent and authorizations, and conducting transactions involving research site networks, providers of research solutions and other stakeholders in the biomedical research space. Jiayan’s regulatory practice includes counseling clients on state and federal “sunshine” and gift ban laws. She analyzes proposed arrangements and corporate organizational structures to identify and inform reporting obligations, and helps clients develop compliance mechanisms for managing their reporting obligations.

Advises clients on trademark and copyright counseling, licensing, prosecution, and enforcement

Helps companies register, maintain, protect, and license trademarks, service marks, domain names, and other brand assets worldwide

Supports business-focused IP planning for transactions, including strategic alliances, joint ventures, M&A, and complex IP license structures

Advises on data-licensing issues, including for clients operating in the digital health space

Sam Siegfried is a trusted advisor on emerging healthcare technology matters, with a particular focus on data privacy and security, artificial intelligence (AI), clinical research, and complex technology transactions. He helps healthcare and life sciences companies navigate evolving regulations, maximize data-driven opportunities, and implement innovative technologies. He also conducts privacy and research diligence and negotiates transition services agreements for mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, and joint ventures.

With extensive experience in key privacy frameworks, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Washington’s My Health My Data Act (MHMDA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other evolving US and global data protection frameworks, Sam provides critical data strategy guidance to digital health platforms, genomic sequencing providers, health systems, biotech firms, and other health and life sciences organizations.

As AI reshapes healthcare delivery and innovation, Sam works closely with AI developers and deployers on AI governance programs, generative AI use, and consumer protection risks. In the clinical research space, he advises on federal and state research regulations, research compliance program development, research informed consent, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements.

Beyond his regulatory practice, Sam structures and negotiates complex commercial transactions, including data licensing agreements, software as a service (SaaS) and other technology platform agreements, AI development partnerships, research collaborations, and clinical trial agreements.

Before joining McDermott, Sam served as in-house counsel at an academic medical center and a precision medicine startup, handling complex privacy, research, and healthcare regulatory challenges. This frontline experience informs his pragmatic approach, allowing him to deliver solutions that seamlessly integrate compliance with business objectives.

James (Jamie) Ravitz is the co-head of the firm’s Life Sciences industry practice and head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) practice. He works alongside clients across the entire spectrum of life sciences and healthcare law, including regulatory counsel, compliance, and investigations and government enforcement. He is particularly focused on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory counseling. Jamie works in partnership with companies and investors across the complete ecosystem of FDA-regulated products — drugs, devices, health technologies, biologics, food, cosmetics and cannabis — to help them achieve their business goals.

Jamie works with manufacturers and distributors of FDA-regulated products, with deep experience on novel drugs, biologics, and cutting-edge products, from the product concept stage through to post-market and product marketing to facilitate market success and reduce enforcement risk. Jamie is a valuable addition to healthcare and life sciences transaction matters, assisting clients with FDA-related due diligence to maximize value and minimize risk and roadblocks during the transaction.

When compliance or enforcement matters arise, Jamie takes a proactive, business-focused approach to address the issues with minimal business disruption. He also works with clients on the regulatory components of internal investigations, enforcement activity, and consumer protection litigation when they arise. He has worked with clients on numerous internal investigations and responses to Office of Inspector General (OIG) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoenas and has assisted in the defense and settlement of qui tam whistleblower suits alleging violations of the False Claims Act.

Jamie is a recognized thought leader in the health law and medical device spaces. He is a regular speaker at health and life sciences industry conferences and has served as an advisory board member to bio-innovation centers and trade media editorial boards.

Prior to joining McDermott Will & Schulte, Jamie served as leader of the FDA, healthcare, and consumer products compliance practice at a large international law firm.

Kristian (Krist) Werling is the global head of McDermott’s Health & Life Sciences practice, which provides regulatory and transactional counsel to health and life sciences industry leaders, changemakers, and investors.

Krist and the McDermott Health & Life Sciences team lead the most significant transactions, critical regulatory issues, and litigation matters that shape the health and life sciences industry. In his own practice, Krist represents life sciences companies, health service providers, private equity firms, and venture capital investors in a wide variety of transactional and regulatory matters. He has led cutting-edge industry transactions that have introduced cancer and gene therapy products to the global market, expanded access to fertility services, increased the availability of cost-effective outpatient surgical services, and transformed the delivery of physician services in a broad range of specialties.

Krist's decades of experience on the buy-side and sell-side of health and life sciences dealmaking spans the healthcare and life sciences landscape. He leads cross-disciplinary teams and delivers business-focused legal guidance to help clients pursue their most innovative strategies, working across borders and health and life sciences subsectors to connect and advise industry stakeholders. Krist is also skilled at developing creative transaction structures, conducting sector-specific due diligence, and providing forward-looking counsel to mitigate issues that can derail transactions or stunt long-term growth. His deep understanding of sector-specific regulatory nuances allows him to efficiently close transactions and maximize client outcomes.

Representative PE clients include Ampersand Capital Partners (buy-side and sell-side); Amulet Capital Partners (buy-side and sell-side); Windrose Health Investors (buy-side and sell-side M&A, and joint venture matters); Iron Path Capital (investments, carve-out acquisitions and new platform formations), Quad-C (new platform formation and investment and sell-side), PPC (buy-side).

Representative healthcare and life sciences companies include Baxter International and Vanda Pharmaceuticals (cross-border sales and acquisitions; licensing); REGENXBIO (strategic partnership with AbbVie); Cleveland Clinic, Hospital for Special Surgery and Northwestern Medicine (strategic innovation investments and joint ventures); numerous founder-owned businesses in strategic transactions with investors.

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).