Healthcare Litigation, Compliance, and Investigation Forum 2026

David Quinn (Dave) Gacioch focuses his practice on litigation and enforcement defense, primarily related to the US healthcare sector.  Dave counsels hospitals, health systems, physician practices, and other providers, along with payors, private equity sponsors, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, and others involved in the US healthcare system, on compliance and risk mitigation issues.  He conducts internal investigations for clients, and represents them in government investigations, enforcement actions, and civil and criminal litigation, including class actions.

Dave has deep experience across a number of key substantive issues, including:

• False Claims Act matters pursued by whistleblowers (qui tam cases) or government authorities;
• Fraud and abuse issues arising under the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, and other laws governing federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid—especially fair market value (business valuation and professional services compensation) issues;
• Federal and state oversight of controlled substance laws, including defending Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigations;
• Information privacy, cybersecurity and data breach response issues arising under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 42 C.F.R. Part 2, and other US federal and state laws;
• Website and mobile application user tracking technologies and potential regulatory and litigation challenges to their deployment, including under wiretapping/eavesdropping statutes;
• Conscience and religious freedom-based investigations of providers by the US Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR);
• Negotiation of, and compliance with, corporate integrity agreements (CIAs) and corrective action plans (CAPs);
• Response to sentinel events, such as allegations of provider staff abuse of patients— including compliance with real-time administrative and criminal reporting obligations while planning for potential investigative, civil litigation, and community relations impacts downstream;
• Compliance with and investigation preparation/defense regarding COVID-19 pandemic relief programs such as the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund and advance/accelerated Medicare payments; and
• Response to civil investigative demands (CIDs) and subpoenas.

Dave works closely with McDermott’s best-in-class Health Industry Advisory team to provide litigation and enforcement defense representation informed by leading-edge thinking on complex healthcare regulatory issues.  As a recent example, Dave co-leads the Firm's Post-Dobbs Resource Center - a joint healthcare, regulatory, privacy and litigation team that counsels clients on how to navigate the challenging legal landscape around abortion and other reproductive health care in the wake of the US Supreme Court's  Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. decision in 2022.

Additionally, Dave is working closely with McDermott’s best-in-class Health Information Privacy and Privacy/Cybersecurity teams to provide comprehensive, strategic counseling and representation to clients around website and mobile application user tracking and marketing technologies (AdTech)—including defending multiple class action cases brought against clients under wiretapping/eavesdropping statutes.

Dave is one of the leading lawyers in the United States in the area of responding to HHS-OCR investigations, whether based upon HIPAA or upon conscience and religious freedom laws, and negotiating favorable resolutions when such investigations result in allegations of non-compliance by covered entities or business associates. Notably, Dave served as lead counsel in the successful defense of a health system against the first attempt by the HHS-OCR and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to take conscience-based enforcement action against a provider—securing a dismissal of the DOJ lawsuit and a reversal of HHS-OCR’s notice of violation.

As a former advanced emergency medical technician and ambulance service officer, Dave brings a provider’s perspective to the practicalities of healthcare compliance and risk mitigation, which allows him to grasp issues quickly and to communicate them effectively both to and on behalf of providers.

Dave’s practice also includes commercial litigation and dispute resolution on behalf of a variety of clients inside and beyond health care, including a leading alcohol beverages brand.  Additionally, Dave serves as national coordinating counsel for a building products manufacturer in the asbestos product liability litigation.

Dave regularly writes and lectures on the issues referenced above. Dave also has significant trial, hearing, and arbitration experience, and has performed extensive pro bono work.

Previously, Dave served as law clerk to the Honorable Ernest C. Torres, Chief Judge of the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Laura McLane co-leads McDermott’s white-collar and government investigations practice as well as the Firm’s False Claims Act (FCA) practice, and is a nationally renowned FCA litigator. For over 25 years, Laura has defended companies touching all aspects of the healthcare and life sciences industries in government investigations, qui tam litigation under the FCA, and related matters. Clients call Laura “an exquisite lawyer, very smart and incisive,” and a “fierce advocate for her clients” (Chambers USA). Laura was named Boston’s Lawyer of Year in Healthcare Litigation by Best Lawyers in America for 2025-2026.

Laura’s experience spans the spectrum of government oversight in healthcare and life sciences. Her clients include healthcare providers of all types as well as laboratories, pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, private equity investors, and an array of other entities that reach the healthcare space. Laura represents clients in FCA matters throughout the country, as well as in federal courts of appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. She has extensively litigated the myriad issues that typically arise in FCA cases, including representing her client in the landmark Escobar case in the Supreme Court. Clients state that Laura is “fantastic, . . . efficient and able to pull in knowledgeable resources right to the issue” (Legal 500 US).  Her recent experience includes guiding multiple clients through government investigations and related matters arising from the novel issues presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, including issues relating to testing, vaccination and treatment. In addition to her healthcare experience, Laura defends clients facing FCA and other forms of government scrutiny in other industries, such as defense contracting and technology.

Beyond defending clients in investigations and litigation, Laura’s practice includes working closely with clients on FCA risk management and compliance assessments, and counseling buyers and sellers in transactions involving enforcement issues.

Tony Maida counsels health care and life sciences clients on government investigations, regulatory compliance and compliance program development. Having served as a government official, Tony has extensive experience in health care fraud and abuse and compliance issues, including the federal and state Anti-Kickback and Stark Laws and Medicare and Medicaid coverage and payment rules. Tony is a practice area leader for the Healthcare Regulatory & Compliance practice.

He represents clients in False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam matters, government audits, civil monetary penalty and exclusion investigations, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suspension, and revocation actions, negotiating and implementing corporate integrity agreements, and making government self-disclosures. Tony also draws on his background in government investigations to assist clients in evaluating, developing and implementing corporate compliance programs.

Tony previously served as deputy chief of the Administrative and Civil Remedies Branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), where he represented the agency on investigating FCA and civil monetary penalty cases, negotiating and monitoring corporate integrity agreements, and defending exclusion appeals. While serving at HHS, Tony was a principal author of the OIG's current Self-Disclosure Protocol. He also has advised CMS on policy issues, including the Medicare Overpayment Rule and the creation of the Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol.

Tony represents a wide variety of clients, including

• Hospitals and health systems
• Professional services organizations and physician practice management companies, such as anesthesia, dentistry, dermatology, emergency medicine, oncology, primary care, radiology and wellness practices
• Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and distributors
• Long-term care, home health, hospice and other post/sub-acute providers
• Pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers
• Dialysis providers
• Laboratories
• Ambulance companies
• Health plans
• Electronic health records and revenue cycle management vendors
• Investors and other financial institutions that invest in and/or support the health care and life science industries

Tony writes and speaks frequently on health care regulatory topics and has lectured on health care fraud and abuse issues at Boston University School of Law and American University Washington College of Law.

Prior to his government service, Tony represented hospitals and physician practices on health care regulatory and corporate compliance issues. During law school, Tony was the editor of the 2001 Symposium issues of the American Journal of Law and Medicine.

Monica A. Wallace focuses her practice on complex regulatory and transactional counseling to healthcare organizations, including health systems, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician groups, dental providers, behavioral health clients, integrated delivery systems, academic medical centers, DMEPOS and pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers, home health agencies, and venture capital and private equity firms and their health-related portfolio companies. Monica is a practice area leader for the Healthcare Regulatory & Compliance practice.

Monica concentrates her regulatory practice on healthcare fraud and abuse, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, reimbursement and billing, legal assessments and audits, compliance programs, and other general regulatory matters including licensure, survey/certification and accreditation. Her transactional practice includes mergers, acquisitions and affiliations, divestitures, hospital/physician joint ventures and corporate reorganization.

Previously, Monica worked with hospital executive management at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on strategic academic medical center issues.

Emily Jane Cook serves as counsel to clients in the healthcare sector from start-ups to established market leaders on a wide range of critical regulatory matters to ensure compliant business operations. Her guidance allows these organizations to prospectively and retrospectively manage the risks associated with operating in a high-complexity and highly-regulated sector.

A national authority on the 340B drug pricing program, Emily also helps clients across the country navigate a wide range of complex federal and state healthcare regulations. Her counsel encompasses issues such as navigating federal and state fraud and abuse laws, development of innovative models for healthcare delivery, Medicare provider-based and co-location rules, pharmacy laws and licensure, graduate medical education, and federally qualified health centers. This depth of knowledge across many regulatory issues allows her to provide her clients with comprehensive legal advice and guidance, which allows them to fully evaluate risks in their business and clinical operations. She works closely with colleagues in McDermott’s diverse practice areas to deliver fully realized solutions for her clients.

Emily’s deep insights into US healthcare regulation stem from her previous tenure at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). For more than five years, she worked with providers and across government agencies to address regulatory barriers to healthcare delivery. She advised senior HHS leadership on Medicare and Medicaid regulation and reimbursement issues affecting rural communities and providers, and served as senior policy advisor to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services.

Emily is an active member of the American Health Law Association, where she most recently served as the Chair of their Medicare and Medicaid Institute. She is also a member of the firm’s Health/White Collar cross-practice group.

Edward (Ted) Diskant is a former federal prosecutor and the co-head of McDermott Will & Schulte’s global white-collar and government investigations practice. Ted leverages his background overseeing some of the most high-profile criminal matters brought by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to help companies and individuals navigate a wide range of white-collar, litigation, and regulatory enforcement matters. Recognized as a leading white-collar practitioner by Chambers USA, Ted is “super responsive and practical” in approaching clients’ most sensitive and complex issues. He is routinely hired to lead sensitive internal investigations and respond to government inquiries, with a particular focus on matters involving the False Claims Act (FCA), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other anti-bribery laws, wire fraud, healthcare fraud, money laundering, and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

An experienced trial lawyer, Ted also regularly takes complex civil and criminal cases to trial. Recognized as part of McDermott’s globally ranked team, Global Investigations Review (GIR) highlights that Ted “brings lots of trial experience to the table,” and clients rely on Ted’s extensive courtroom experience at all stages of litigation. Ted also frequently consults on compliance matters and helps clients design, implement, and audit compliance programs consistent with US Justice Department (DOJ) and other applicable guidance.

Prior to joining McDermott Will & Schulte, Ted spent nine years at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, most recently serving as Chief of the Public Corruption Unit. In that capacity, Ted supervised a team of approximately twenty senior prosecutors, overseeing some of the Office’s most sensitive and high-profile matters. Ted also led investigations and prosecutions of financial institutions related to compliance with the BSA, as well as US sanctions and AML requirements.

As part of his pro bono practice, Ted serves on the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel for the Southern District of New York, representing defendants in federal criminal matters, appeals, and in habeas proceedings. Ted co-founded the LGBT White-Collar Working Group and serves on the Firm’s Diversity Committee.

Prior to joining the US Attorney’s Office, Ted clerked for the Hon. Debra Ann Livingston, Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for the Hon. Sidney H. Stein, United States District Court, Southern District of New York.

Benton (Ben) Curtis is a former federal prosecutor and accomplished trial lawyer who serves as the co-head of McDermott Will & Schulte's global white-collar and government investigations practice. He draws upon his experience to advise clients on regulatory enforcement and white-collar criminal matters, internal investigations, and due diligence regarding third-party and business transactions. Ben’s efforts touch on both US and cross-border matters, and they often entail providing contemporaneous guidance as to the design, testing, and implementation of compliance programs.

Ben regularly represents clients before, and in litigation against, government agencies, including clients accused of healthcare fraud, kickback violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, money laundering, and securities fraud. He likewise regularly helps corporate and individual victims seek redress through civil litigation and, when appropriate, the criminal justice system.

Over his career, Ben has tried more than 25 federal jury trials in district courts around the country, and he leans into that experience when counseling his clients in high-stakes matters. Ben’s capabilities stem, in large part, from his previous 10 years with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which included extended stints in Miami, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. In his last position, Ben served for almost five years as an Assistant Chief in DOJ’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section, where he supervised numerous large-scale healthcare fraud investigations and prosecutions around the country. He also oversaw significant FCPA investigations related to the entertainment and gaming industries in Asia and a number of insider trading and high-yield investment matters.