North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Healthcare Power List 2023

DAVID BATTEN PARTNER

Over the years, Dave Batten and his colleagues have defended doctors and nurses across the country, from Alaska to South Florida.

That experience gave him an opportunity to see how attorneys in other states handle cases and reinforced his belief that attorneys in North and South Carolina have superb legal skills.

A partner at the Raleigh firm of Batten McLamb Smith, Batten defends hospital systems and doctors both nationally and locally.

He found his calling early in his career when his team prevailed in a five-week trial defending a psychiatrist whose patient had committed suicide. He learned valuable lessons from that experience.

“Our client had been the director of public health under Fidel Castro before moving his family to the United States,” Batten said. “Learning how his life experiences shaped him taught me that the background and character of your clients are likely more interesting and important to a jury than the medicine or the law.”

Batten’s cases often include traumatic and life-changing injuries and illnesses. Many of his trials involve future life care plans and have resulted in awards up to $49 million.

Batten was a founding member of the Susie Sharp Inn of Court.

Early in her career, Gina Bertolini was an advocate for victims of violent crime. That experience inspired her to expand her work to have a greater impact on people’s lives. She determined that practicing law would put her on that path.

“I thought understanding how to maneuver laws and the legal system would be a good way to help others,” she said.

Bertolini received her JD from University of California Hastings College of the Law and moved to North Carolina shortly after she finished a clerkship. She joined K&L Gates to represent healthcare providers and is a partner in the firm’s RTP office.

“I quickly learned this was a wonderful way to contribute positively to the world,” she said. “What was I didn’t expect was how intellectually challenging this area is because the laws and regulations are always changing.”

Bertolini most appreciates opportunities to solve difficult problems alongside her clients, helping further the delivery of health care and the development of products and services, while navigating the thorny policy and social issues that can arise.

“In addition to my desire to contribute positively to the world, I have always loved challenges,” she said. “So I joined the practice of law and have never looked back.”

GINA L. BERTOLINI PARTNER K&L GATES RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK

BATTEN MCLAMB SMITH RALEIGH

MARK T. CALLOWAY SENIOR COUNSEL ALSTON & BIRD CHARLOTTE

A former U.S. attorney and official with the Department of Justice, Mark Calloway brings a unique perspective to his role as senior counsel in the Charlotte office of Alston & Bird.

He represents hospital systems, medical practices, drug and device manufacturers, and health insurers, navigating them through federal criminal investigations and civil False Claims Act litigation. He also represents manufacturers and executives in federal criminal antitrust investigations.

“I have always had an interest in medicine, and I enjoy quietly helping people and companies solve difficult legal problems,” he said. “Our best work is often that which no one ever hears about.”

He noted that False Claims Act enforcement by the DOJ and by state AGs will continue to increase as additional resources are devoted to enforcement.

“Whistle blower suits will also continue to increase, making it challenging for healthcare systems, practices, and companies,” he said. “Increasingly, it’s not about ‘if’ a healthcare entity will receive a Civil Investigative Demand from the DOJ but ‘when.’”

LAETITIA L. CHELTENHAM

As a nationally certified healthcare provider and accomplished health law attorney, Laetitia Cheltenham focuses her practice on advising hospitals, health systems, clinical laboratories and other healthcare providers on a broad range of strategic and operational issues.

Cheltenham is a shareholder in the Raleigh office of Hall Render and brings broad experience to her practice. Before enrolling in law school, she was a recreational therapist and a behavioral health consultant in both private and government settings. She also taught psychology and physical education at James Sprunt Community College for nearly three years.

Cheltenham received her JD from the University of North Carolina, where she received the Gressman-Pollitt Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy.

Active in the legal profession and her community, Cheltenham is on the board of directors of the Wake Forest Youth Ballet and the N.C. Society of Health Care Attorneys.

W. CAMPBELL JR. PARTNER BROOKS PIERCE GREENSBORO

Whenever Forrest Campbell has an opportunity to use practical, down-to-earth advice to help his clients understand and navigate thorny issues, it’s a good day for the Brooks Pierce partner.

“The laws are not intuitive enough to help individuals understand that a very good business idea for an industry could result in criminal liability in the healthcare context” he said. “I enjoy helping clients understand and navigate those laws.”

Campbell received his law degree from Wake Forest University. represents healthcare providers, including physicians, hospitals, surgery centers, assisted living facilities, health care trade associations, and others, and helps them traverse the myriad federal and state laws that govern the health care industry.

A classical musician, he holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts and played with the North Carolina Symphony for a year before becoming an attorney.

His daughter and son are following in his legal and musical footsteps.

“Much to my surprise, my daughter just graduated from Yale Law School and my son is a classical musician in Toronto with a budding career,” he said. “I never dreamed either of them would choose these paths.”

SARAH B. CROTTS

As a self-described “people pleaser,” Sarah Crotts enjoys celebrating successes both large and small.

“Happy colleagues and clients are in my lifeblood,” she said. “I derive just as much joy from the small wins like getting a definition changed in a contract as I do from the big wins like closing a difficult transaction.”

Crotts has over 15 years’ experience advising healthcare providers and has extensive knowledge of health care compliance issues.

A few health law classes and a summer internship in the legal department at a local hospital convinced her that representing healthcare providers was what she wanted to do.

“Every health law attorney I met did something different and fascinating, so the concept of a practice where I could develop a niche based on my own interests was a huge selling point,” she said.

After graduating from law school, Crotts says she struggled to find a job practicing healthcare law, so she turned to litigation defense for a few years, and refused to give up on her goal.

“After an abundance of persistence and networking, I was able to transition into a health law practice,” she said.

FORREST

COUNSEL PARKER POE CHARLOTTE

SHAREHOLDER HALL RENDER RALEIGH

J. MICHAEL FIELDS

ATTORNEY WARD & SMITH GREENVILLE

As healthcare practices navigate an ever-increasing number of complex and fast-moving laws and regulations, Michael Fields knows his clients must keep up with the changes and strive to stay one step ahead.

“As a practitioner, it can be a challenge to keep up and to see around the corner to advise our clients about what is likely to come next,” he said.

Fields, who received his JD from UNC-Chapel Hill, joined Ward & Smith’s Greenville office in 1999, where his practice encompasses a broad range of business law matters. He added healthcare providers to his portfolio in 2004 to help bolster the firm’s thriving healthcare practice, and now leads that practice area. He also provides mediation services in bankruptcy cases.

Along the way, he’s built valuable relationships with his clients and colleagues.

“I enjoy working with the physicians, administrators, and leaders in these practices, and I admire what they do each day,” he said.

And since the COVID pandemic, Fields has also enjoyed taking to the skies.

“I'm in training to be a private pilot, and so far, I have done a couple of solo flights,” he said.

CARRIE A. HANGER PARTNER

NELSON MULLINS WINSTON-SALEM

Carrie Hanger went to law school because she wanted to make a difference. She views healthcare law as a way to touch as many people’s lives as possible.

“I get a lot of personal satisfaction from supporting clients in their critical work,” she said. “Healthcare law is dynamic and rife with opportunities to think creatively and come up with new solutions.”

Hanger views antitrust as one of the top issues facing the industry due to the Biden Administration’s robust approach to antitrust enforcement.

“The FTC and DOJ have been viewing horizontal and vertical mergers in the healthcare and biosciences space with more scrutiny than in prior years under different administrations,” she said. “The same is true for acquisitions of physician practices by health systems.”

Along with challenges come rewards, and Hanger derives those from her clients.

“The the clients I’ve worked want to do things the ‘right’ way, and it’s satisfying and a privilege to partner with them to achieve their goals,” she said.

Hanger earned her law degree from Wake Forest University, where she was executive editor of the Wake Forest Law Review.

JOHN B. GARVER III ATTORNEY ROBINSON BRADSHAW CHARLOTTE

John Garver’s enjoyment of practicing healthcare law began when he started working with providers and developed a strong connection with them.

“To have clients that are endeavoring to deliver the best care they can to people who need it and to know that as an attorney you could play your part in helping the providers on the front lines succeed, just made the work all the more meaningful,” he said.

Garver, a partner at Robinson Bradshaw in Charlotte, is a longtime leader of the firm's Health Care Practice Group, and frequently writes and speaks on health law issues. He received his law degree from Duke University and holds a Master of Laws degree from Judge Advocate General’s School.

Garver says his rewards come from working alongside his clients, their in-house attorneys, and his colleagues from the other side of legal issues to reach solutions that work for everyone.

“And always, I enjoy the support, encouragement, and pleasure I get from being part of the team at Robinson Bradshaw,” he said.

CHAD D. HANSEN PARTNER

“My practice sprang from a single client representative looking for a second opinion to help solve a complex and nuanced set of legal issues,” he said.

That relationship led to an opportunity to work first with an organization, and then an entire industry.

“I have found that excellent clients inspire excellence,” he said.

Hansen is co-leader of the firm's Healthcare Payer Practice and a member of the firm's ERISA Litigation and Class Action teams. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in health care, ERISA, and complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts.

Hansen derives his greatest career rewards from the constant evolution in healthcare law and compares healthcare lawyers to professional students.

“In addition to litigation, my practice has counseling and transactional aspects which allow me to be involved in my clients’ business, not just their disputes,” he said. “This work drives deep relationships, and those are important to me.”

A rewarding professional relationship inspired Chad Hansen to pursue his career in healthcare law.

KILPATRICK TOWNSEND WINSTON-SALEM

JOY HEATH PARTNER WILLIAMS

MULLEN RALEIGH

Joy Heath feels a sense of pride when she looks over a map and sees the locations of the healthcare facilities she has helped develop over the course of her career.

After receiving her law degree from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, she joined a firm with a busy healthcare practice and began what would become a decades-long career.

Today, as a partner in the Charlotte office of Williams Mullen, she has over 30 years of experience representing clients in the health care sector in business and regulatory matters, focusing on primarily focusing on Certificate of Need (CON), acquisitions and compliance-related matters.

“I am proud to have worked with providers to develop new facilities, add services, and offer the major medical equipment that allow patients to receive needed health care in their communities,” she said.

Heath is the mother of two adult children. Her daughter, who was once a contestant on Jeopardy, is an attorney in Washington, D.C. Her son is a master barber in Florida.

“My children inspire me with how they have lived their lives so fully and pursued their professional dreams,” she said.

JENNIFER CSIK HUTCHENS PARTNER

BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER CHARLOTTE

As a leader in healthcare law, Jennifer Hutchens is most excited about innovation.

“Health AI is truly transformative,” she said. “And other areas of health innovation, such as concierge medicine, digital health, and telemedicine continue to evolve and grow.”

A graduate of Duke University School of Law, Hutchens is a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and the global leader of the firm’s healthcare practice in Charlotte. She has been fascinated with healthcare her whole life.

“From a very young age, I witnessed the miracles of medicine and the ecosystem that helped take care of my mother, who was hospitalized for much of my childhood with a life-long mental health condition,” she said. “As I developed my academic interests in college, I became interested in finding a pathway to support that same ecosystem and give back to it.”

As a strategic, operations, and compliance-focused lawyer, she has been able to attain trusted status adviser with her clients.

“That level of partnership with my clients, including the journey to build that relationship, is a gift I do not take for granted,” she said. “It also means I routinely feel I learn more from my clients than they will ever know.”

MARCUS C. HEWITT PARTNER

Marc Hewitt is committed to helping healthcare providers solve thorny disputes and legal issues that get in the way of their mission to treat patients and promote healthy communities.

A partner at Fox Rothschild in Raleigh, Hewitt started his career as a general commercial litigator but gravitated toward health law as he gained experience.

“Healthcare disputes present a unique challenge because they involve the intersection of state and federal laws and regulations with the operational challenges faced by healthcare providers,” he said. “To be an effective litigator in this field, you need to understand the industry as well as the law.”

Hewitt chairs the North Carolina Bar Association’s Health Law Section and serves on the SearStone Continuing Care Retirement Community’s board of directors. He is a past president of the North Carolina Association of Health Care Attorneys.

A lifelong North Carolinian, Hewitt says he joined the Marines to see the world and ended up stationed at Camp LeJeune, N.C. “Now I wouldn’t live anywhere else," he said.

BRANDON W. LEEBRICK

As a principal with Ott Cone & Redpath, Brandon Leebrick focuses on hospitals, helping them with legal and operational issues involving reimbursements.

“Healthcare has always intrigued me as an impactful way to serve people, yet I never pictured myself working as a medical professional,” he said. “A health law class piqued my interest in pairing my legal skills and business knowledge with my interest in healthcare.”

In Leebrick’s view, one of the most pressing industry issues in the healthcare sector right now is medical personnel shortages and their impact on the delivery of care, particularly in an aging population.

“Changes to laws and regulations are needed to make it easier for people to access medical care and providers to get reimbursed adequately,” he said.

Working to help his client hospitals solve this and other problems keeps Leebrick passionate about his work.

“I like to help solve challenging problems, and with healthcare’s regulatory landscape always changing, there is never a dull moment,” he said.

John Martin draws his inspiration from the wondrous variety that medicine brings. As managing partner at Cranfill Sumner’s Wilmington office, he co-chairs the firm’s Medical Malpractice Group, defending hospitals, physicians and physician practices and long-term care facilities that find themselves in litigation.

Martin points to rising patient expectations for fueling increasingly growing litigation.

“I think patients are more demanding now than they were years ago and are quick to make complaints to hospitals or with the NC Medical Board,” he said.

Martin, who grew up in Nigeria, received his law degree from Campbell University. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national association comprised of experienced trial lawyers and judges. He treasures the opportunity to work with the clients he serves in his practice.

“It is an honor and humbling to represent healthcare providers,” he said.

While growing up on a farm in Kentucky, Kayla Marty became passionate about rural access to healthcare.

“Many of my favorite clients are providers outside of metropolitan areas who provide care to those who do not have access to significant healthcare choices,” she said.

Marty, a partner at McGuireWoods in Charlotte, works extensively with fertility practices and says her greatest rewards come from helping women’s health providers expand their businesses. She is constantly amazed by the ways her clients change the lives of women and families.

“Expansion and development of my clients’ practices provides greater access to care for women across the country,” she said. “Fertility services are in high demand by families in the U.S., and access to care continues to increase as a result of the hard work of groups such as those I represent.”

When Marty has down time, she enjoys fishing, preferably on a Montana river.

DAVID A. SENTER JR

As a child, Toni Peck had her eye on a career in medicine, but a high school U.S. history class sparked an interest in law. A medical internship reinforced her resolve to become a lawyer, but it didn’t quell her interest in health care.

“My attraction to law was solidified after I completed a high school internship in medicine that made it clear seeing blood for the rest of my life was not going to work for me,” she said. “In law school, I discovered health law and it was the perfect combination of all my interests - law, medicine, business, and health policy.”

Peck is a partner in Womble Bond Dickinson’s Research Triangle Park office and a member of the firm’s healthcare team. She focuses on helping healthcare providers navigate a variety of regulatory compliance and corporate matters.

“In my practice, I get to help health systems put together ventures that bring various health care services to the public,” she said. “It’s a secretly proud moment when I drive by a facility or walk into a facility to receive health care knowing I played a small part in ensuring these services were made available to patients.”

David Senter did not start his legal career practicing healthcare law; rather, he fell into it a few years after starting his practice, when a partner on the Young Moore healthcare team needed help. Senter was an associate at the time and had worked in a variety of practice areas.

“I established an interested in healthcare privacy and security compliance and went on to establish our firm’s presence in that space,” he said.

Today, Senter is a shareholder at Young Moore. Over time, he has built valuable relationships with his clients and he treasures that aspect of his practice.

“When you work with folks for hours on end on a particular matter and then follow up with texts about someone’s son’s baseball tournament or the progress of a household project, you realize you are impacting more than someone’s 9-5,” he said. “Developing and maintaining those relationships is often more rewarding than the work itself.”

A diehard NASCAR fan, Senter said he prizes his Sunday afternoons huddled around the television with his four kids “watching men drive cars in circles.”

SHAREHOLDER YOUNG MOORE ATTORNEYS RALEIGH

ANTONIA A. PECK PARTNER WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK

KAYLA MCCANN MARTY PARTNER

MCGUIREWOODS CHARLOTTE

JOHN D. MARTIN PARTNER CRANFILL SUMNER WILMINGTON

STEVE SHABER PARTNER POYNER SPRUILL RALEIGH

Steve Shaber got his first taste of healthcare law as an assistant attorney general with the N.C. Department of Justice and never looked back.

“I stuck with it because patient care and the science behind it are so interesting,” he said.

At the DOJ, Shaber represented the state in federal class action lawsuits involving hundreds of millions of dollars for Medicare, mental health, and other programs of public assistance, and he successfully argued Lassiter vs. Department of Social Services in the U.S. Supreme Court, on behalf of the state as amicus curiae.

Today, Shaber is a partner at Poyner Spruill in Raleigh, where he focuses most of his work on Medicare and Medicaid fraud & abuse, provider reimbursement, false claims, hospital medical staff matters, and professional licensing board cases.

He views efforts to help practitioners meet the medical and financial challenges of modern practices as among the top issues facing healthcare law.

“The most rewarding aspect of my practice is dealing with clients as individuals,” he said. “Honestly, a client emailed me today to say they were crying with happiness about a good result.”

JAMES C. WRENN JR. ATTORNEY SMITH ANDERSON RALEIGH

Jim Wrenn started his legal career as a general practitioner in rural North Carolina. where he realized the local hospital and other healthcare providers needed an experienced attorney to represent them. He stepped in and expanded his practice area to help these organizations and the communities they serve.

“Having access to legal counsel not only benefits healthcare, but also boosts economic development in rural settings,” Wrenn said.

Wrennserves as general counsel for numerous healthcare providers, business entities, government entities and nonprofit organizations.

From Wrenn’s point of view, the consolidation of healthcare systems and the impact it has on our rural hospitals and health care providers are among the most pressing issues facing providers and consumers today.

“With the Medicaid and Medicare expansion, reimbursements will get more complicated, creating a gulf between people who rely on these health programs and those reimbursed by private insurance,” he said. “We are also facing the continuing issues of a labor shortage, inflation, and wage pressures.”

MATTHEW W. WOLFE RALEIGH MANAGING SHAREHOLDER BAKER DONELSON RALEIGH

While working on both his master’s in public policy and his law degree at Duke University, Matt Wolfe began considering ways to develop a legal practice that would make a deep impact in society. He saw health law was a perfect fit.

“Each day, I wake up with the opportunity to advise and guide health care providers through the complex and ever-evolving sea of laws and regulations and advocate for their needs and the patients they serve,” he said.

Wolfe, the managing shareholder at Baker Donelson’s Raleigh office, helps providers still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic which exacerbated the workforce crisis and provided temporary relief from regulatory red tape.

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“Providers are now having to largely pivot back to pre-pandemic requirements while adapting to the transformational lessons we learned during the pandemic,” he said.

Wolfe, who has also worked as an actor, a newspaper editor, a dancer and a teacher, often draws from the skills he acquired in those roles.

“Almost everything we get to do involves bigger-picture issues that will impact our clients, their employees, their patients, and the communities they serve,” he said.

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With many of your clients and prospects working from home, now is a great time to engage them through a webinar.

Hosting a webinar is a powerful way to connect with your target audience,and with North Carolina Lawyers Weekly - you won’t have to worry about any of the logistics.

With many of your clients and prospects working from home, now is a great time to engage them through a webinar.

Hosting a webinar is a powerful way to connect with your target audience,and with North Carolina Lawyers Weekly - you won’t have to worry about any of the logistics.

Whether you’re looking to move an in-person event online,or just need to generate quality sales leads,our team can help provide turnkey service from marketing to execution!

Whether you’re looking to move an in-person event online,or just need to generate quality sales leads,our team can help provide turnkey service from marketing to execution!

What is included in your webinar:

• 45-60 minute webinar

What is included in your webinar:

• 45-60 minute webinar

• Dedicated project support

• Dedicated project support

• Email marketing Social media

Email marketing

Social media

• Print ad

• Print ad

For more information,please contact Sheila Batie-Jones at 704.817.1350 or sbatie-jones@nclawyersweekly.com.

For more information,please contact Sheila Batie-Jones at 704.817.1350 or sbatie-jones@nclawyersweekly.com.