BSW is a strong voice in public policy matters involving state and federal regulatory and legislative bodies. Not only that, our healthcare group assists healthcare providers from the smallest physician practice to large hospital systems with Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement issues; federal and state regulatory issues; negotiating acquisitions, mergers, licensing and managed care arrangements; and, when necessary, litigating healthcare disputes, antitrust issues and medical malpractice cases of every kind. Our law practice includes experienced lawyers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, including two registered nurses.

Healthcare Attorneys

Robert Atkinson
Partner— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8030
Fax: 225.376.5619
robert.atkinson@bswllp.com

Robert L. Atkinson has practiced with BSW since his admission to the Louisiana Bar in October of 1983 and became a partner on January 1, 1988. Robert practices in the area of commercial transactions, with an emphasis on healthcare transactions, real estate matters, and commercial lending. Robert’s experience includes representing clients in connection with the acquisition of hospitals and other health care facilities, creating joint ventures among various health care providers to more effectively and efficiently furnish health care services, assisting clients in acquiring commercial and industrial properties, and representing banks and other institutional lenders in commercial financing matters, including tax-exempt bond financing.

Danielle Borel
Partner — Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8047
danielle.borel@bswllp.com

Danielle Borel is an associate in the Baton Rouge office, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and healthcare. Her principal areas of practice include litigation involving: healthcare provider licensing and payment disputes; trademark disputes; unfair trade practices and unfair competition; contract disputes; and general business and commercial issues.

Ms. Borel received her Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, magna cum laude, in 2014 and was a member of The Order of Coif. She served as the Articles Editor for the Louisiana Law Review, and was a member of the Trial Advocacy and Moot Court boards. She received her Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University, with honors, in 2011.

Clay Countryman
Partner— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8037
Fax: 225.376.5619
clay.countryman@bswllp.com

Clay Countryman is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. Mr. Countryman focuses his practice on health law, with a particular focus on regulatory and business matters involving joint ventures, fraud and abuse, compliance, and Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements.

Clay has served as legal counsel to several health care providers, ranging from national and regional hospital systems, physician group practices, individual hospitals (including Louisiana Hospital Service Districts, rural hospitals, and physician-owned specialty hospitals), to diagnostic imaging facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, physical therapy providers, pharmacies, health care management companies, and health care trade associations.

Clay has assisted in the health care industry with structuring joint ventures and other transaction to promote business objectives while meeting compliance requirements of specific health care laws and regulations, such as the Stark Law, the Federal Anti-Kickback Statutes, Medicare and Medicaid coverage and reimbursement requirements, licensure and accreditation requirements, and federal and state health information privacy and security requirements.

Greg Frost
Partner— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8043
Fax: 225.381.8029
greg.frost@bswllp.com

Gregory D. Frost, a partner in the Baton Rouge office, practices extensively in the area of Healthcare. He concentrates his legal practice on health care law, including the representation of not-for-profit, for-profit and governmental hospitals, home health agencies, physicians and other types of health care providers. Mr. Frost is experienced in complex commercial transactions involving healthcare providers, licensure and other regulatory matters, Medicare, Medicaid and defense of civil and criminal fraud prosecutions, transactional matters and litigation involving health care providers. He has extensive experience dealing with HIPAA and health information issues and was one of the first attorneys in the country to be Certified in Healthcare Privacy by the American Health Information Management Association.

Mr. Frost was vice president of Legal and Governmental Affairs of the Louisiana Hospital Association for over eight years. He has lectured at Louisiana State University, Tulane University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Southern University, and regularly speaks before the trade and professional organizations and legal audiences. Mr. Frost served on the adjunct faculty of the College of St. Francis and is the organizer of the HIPAA Privacy WorkGroups and the annual Louisiana HIPAA and EHR Conference. In addition to numerous articles on health law issues, he is the editor of Louisiana Health Information Law Manual, which is currently in its fifth edition and used as a textbook at ULL. He has also edited Managed Care, Collections and Related Issues, and the Workers’ Comp Medicals Handbooks (both now out of print).

Judy Giorlando
Of Counsel— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8027
Fax: 225.381.8029
judith.giorlando@bswllp.com

Judy’s practice spans a full range of health care matters, including transactional, regulatory and litigation issues. Judy has been a practicing health care attorney for 25 years assisting hospitals and health systems on a variety of health care legal issues including license and regulatory compliance, accreditation matters, medical staff credentialing, and hospital/medical staff relations. One focus of Judy’s practice is guiding hospital medical staff committees through complicated peer review proceedings, ensuring compliance with the reporting and disclosures requirements of HCQIA. She has also represented individual providers in proceedings before the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, Louisiana State Board of Nursing and other licensing boards.

Emily Grey
Partner— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8011
Fax: 225.381.8029
emily.grey@bswllp.com

Emily Black Grey is a Partner in the Baton Rouge office and is BSW’s Healthcare Section Manager.

Emily has knowledge of the complex healthcare laws and experience with the regulators who enforce them. Emily steers healthcare clients through the maze of operational, regulatory, and compliance issues that face them today. She has significant experience representing providers in healthcare litigation as well. Emily works to answer day-to-day operational questions and to accomplish long-term projects with healthcare providers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to individual healthcare professionals.

Emily guides her clients in developing policies for compliance with healthcare regulations such as EMTALA, HCQIA, state licensing regulations, Stark and anti-kickback laws. She assists providers who are seeking a new license, revising an existing license or buying or selling a facility. Additionally, she represents providers under scrutiny from licensing and certification agencies. She handles credentialing and peer review matters and represents providers before their state licensing boards. She also represents providers in collection suits and in recoupment actions initiated by payors.

Emily has an AV® Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell.

Eric Landry
Partner— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8041
Fax: 225.387.5397
eric.landry@bswllp.com

Eric B. Landry is a partner in the Baton Rouge office and his principal areas of practice include corporate advisory services, banking and finance, various business, real estate and healthcare transactions. Mr. Landry represents borrowers and lenders in financing transactions, numerous companies in general advisory matters, as well as health care providers in various transactions.

Catherine Moore
Associate— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8017
catherine.moore@bswllp.com

Catherine Moore is an associate in the Baton Rouge office, practicing in the area of healthcare and corporate law. Catherine attended Southern Methodist University and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in management, a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a minor in economics. Catherine then received her Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 2015, where she was President of the Moot Court Board.

Jacob Simpson
Partner— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.3179
jacob.simpson@bswllp.com

Jacob Simpson is an associate practicing in the Baton Rouge office and is a member of the firm’s Healthcare section. Jacob focuses his practice on a wide range of compliance and regulatory matters, including HIPAA, Stark, Anti-Kickback and other transactional matters. Jacob served as in-house counsel for several years providing legal advice in a myriad of matters from privileging, ethics, human and animal research to contracts and corporate transaction. He is also a registered patent attorney with experience in intellectual property licensing and compliance, university technology transfer, non-disclosure and material transfer agreements.

Troy Villa
Partner— Baton Rouge
Phone: 225.381.8052
Fax: 225.387.5397
troy.villa@bswllp.com

Troy Villa practices extensively in the areas of business transactions, corporate advisory, banking and finance. He also represents both lenders and borrowers in leveraged financing transactions, mezzanine financing, private equity funding, venture capital and other high-yield credit facilities.

He also represents clients in a wide variety of business transactions, including the structuring, negotiation and drafting of contracts and agreements related to the purchase and sale of businesses, mergers, corporate reorganizations, limited liability company and other entity formations and restructuring and other general corporate matters.