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Law Firm News

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Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP

Gibson Dunn Adds Leading Government Contracts Lawyer in DC
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Karen Manos has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner. Manos, who formerly led the government contracts practice at Howrey LLP, is a nationally recognized authority in the areas of government contract costs, pricing and cost accounting controversies.

“Karen is a real star in the government contracts bar, and her particular focus on government contract costs and cost accounting issues will complement our Government and Commercial Contracts Practice,” said Gibson Dunn Managing Partner Ken Doran. “In addition, she is an experienced civil litigator who brings added capacity to our DC litigation resources.”

“Karen is one of two or three lawyers to whom major aerospace and defense contractors turn when they face problems with costs and compliance issues, one of the most complicated areas of government contracts,” said Joseph West, Co-Chair of the firm’s Government and Commercial Contracts Practice Group. “We are absolutely delighted to bring her on board.”

Bob Metzger, who is the Los Angeles-based Co-Chair of the Group, commented, “Karen adds to the ‘critical mass’ our firm can apply in experienced, expert resources to advise our public contractor clients on challenging regulatory matters and to represent them in compliance matters, disputes and litigation.”

“I am excited about joining Gibson Dunn. It is a world-class firm with a core group of very well-respected government contracts attorneys, and I look forward to helping grow the government contracts practice,” said Manos. “In addition, Gibson Dunn’s well-coordinated practice groups and international reach provide an ideal platform for my practice, which focuses on high-stakes, complex government contracts litigation.”

The addition of Manos is the firm’s latest step in strengthening the firm’s bi-coastal government contracts capability. In 2004, Joseph West joined Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office from Arnold & Porter, where he headed the government contracts practice. Both Manos and West were named as two of the top 12 federal procurement lawyers in the D.C. area by the Legal Times in 2004.

01-17-2006

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Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
The Anatomy of the Employment Relationship: from recruiting to termination to litigation.

Thursday, April 6, 2006 - Holiday Inn Select, Lynchburg

Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center

Please click on the file below to see the Labor & Employment Law Symposium flyer for more information.
Disclaimer: This website is provided for information purposes only and the information contained herein is not intended to be relied on as legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship between the visitor and Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP. The information contained in this website is provided only as general information, which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments; accordingly information on this website is not promised or guaranteed to be correct or complete. Further, Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP does not guarantee the accuracy of any information available through the links contained in this website.
Visitors to this website should not: (1) rely upon any information contained in this website for any purpose without first seeking the advice of a licensed attorney in the reader’s state; and (2) provide any information to Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP through this website if the provider considers the information confidential as this site is not secure, and no attorney-client relationship exists simply by providing information. Nothing contained in this website should be construed to constitute a recommendation or endorsement of any product, service or site by Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP.
Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP does not seek to represent anyone desiring legal representation based upon viewing the website, where this website does not comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state. Any information provided herein is intended to be construed only under Virginia law or the applicable federal law.

01-17-2006

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Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.

New Guidance Related to the Consultations Codes
By: David Glaser, Health Law Group
Phone: (612) 492-7143
E-mail: dglaser@fredlaw.com

January 2006

CMS (The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) issued a transmittal that instructed its Medicare carriers to implement changes to the policy regarding consultations as of January 17, 2006. At first glance, the transmittal appears to dramatically limit the definition of a consultation. However, a more careful reading suggests that in fact, with the exception of the deletion of the confirmatory consultation and follow-up inpatient consultation codes, physicians need not significantly change their practice.

There is one change in the transmittal that seems, upon initial review, to suggest that it is nearly impossible for a visit to qualify as a consultation. CMS has always said that when a transfer of care occurs, the visit does not qualify as a consultation. However, the new guidance changes the definition of “transfer of care.” The new definition reads: “A transfer of care occurs when a physician or qualified NPP requests that another physician or qualified NPP take over the responsibility for managing the patients' complete care for the condition and does not expect to continue treating or caring for the patient for that condition.”Prior to this change a transfer of care was defined as the consultant taking over complete care of all of the patient’s medical needs, not just the problem for which a consultation was requested. (The new definition is similar to the definition CMS used prior to 1998.) If that were the only text in the transmittal, it would be reasonable to conclude that many visits that have been considered consultations would not qualify because the requesting physician anticipates that the consultant will be primarily responsible for handling treatment of the problem. However, a review of the examples CMS includes in the transmittal suggest that if the requesting physician will be monitoring the patient for reoccurrence or to facilitate or evaluate the treatment in any way, then the visit still qualifies as a consultation.

The transmittal includes several examples of visits that should be considered consultation.

The first is:

“An internist sees a patient that he has followed for 20 years for mild hypertension and diabetes mellitus. He identifies a questionable skin lesion and asks a dermatologist to evaluate the lesion. The dermatologist examines the patient and decides the lesion is probably malignant and needs to be removed. He removes the lesion which is determined to be an early melanoma. The dermatologist dictates and forwards a report to the internist regarding his evaluation and treatment of the patient. Modifier -25 shall be used with the consultation service code in addition to the procedure code. Modifier -25 is required to identify the consultation service as a significant, separately identifiable E/M service in addition to the procedure code reported for the incision/removal of lesion. The internist resumes care of the patient and continues surveillance of the skin on the advice of the dermatologist.”

In that example, the dermatologist diagnoses and removes the lesion, so someone might try to argue that the dermatologist, rather than the internist is following the condition. But the example makes it clear that the fact that internist will continue to monitor the skin means that the initial visit qualifies as a consultation. Similar examples discuss care by a cardiologist and general surgeon.

There is an additional example in the newsletter that addresses the ongoing debate as to whether visit following an emergency room visit can qualify as a consult. CMS is taking the position that most of the visits do not qualify as consultations. They use the following example:

“The emergency room physician treats the patient for a sprained ankle. The patient is discharged and instructed to visit the orthopedic clinic for follow-up. The physician in the orthopedic clinic shall not report a consultation service because advice or opinion is not required by the emergency room physician. The orthopedic physician shall report the appropriate office or other outpatient visit code.”

While CMS does not address it, there seems to be no doubt that if the ER physician requested a specialist come to the ED to examine the patient, that visit would qualify as a consultation.


01-17-2006

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Franczek Sullivan, P.C.

7th Circuit Rules that Illinois Law Prohibiting Use of Strikebreakers is Preempted
On January 10, 2006, in a decision written by Judge Easterbrook, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that federal labor law preempts the Employment of Strikebreakers Act, an Illinois law which makes it a crime for an employer to hire professional strikebreakers.



The Court stated that since federal labor law allows employers to hire temporary or permanent replacements during a strike, the Illinois statute “is starkly incompatible” with federal law and is therefore preempted. The Court went on to question the state government for passing the statute: “[t]he state’s effort to make the hiring of replacement workers a crime is so starkly incompatible with federal labor law … that we do not understand how a responsible state legislature could pass, a responsible Governor sign, or any state official contemplate enforcing such legislation.”



The decision is a clear vindication of an employer’s right to hire replacement workers as a means of applying further bargaining pressure on striking employees.

01-17-2006

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Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon & Vogt, P.A.

Richard Beens, Attorney Retiring From Felhaber Larson Fenlon & Vogt, PA
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - The Twin Cities law firm of Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon and Vogt, P.A. announces the retirement of Attorney Richard Beens. Mr. Beens joined Felhaber in 1993, and has practiced law for over 37 years.

Mr. Beens was placed on the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services Roster of Arbitrators, and also serves on The Construction Arbitrator Services Roster of Arbitrators. He is retiring from the firm so he may engage in a solo practice in St. Louis Park, limited to work as an arbitration and mediation neutral.





Founded in Saint Paul in 1943, Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon and Vogt, P.A. has offices in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. With over 55 attorneys, the firm serves clients in the areas of corporate and commercial law, employee benefits, employment law, estate planning, health care, intellectual property, labor law representing management, litigation, real estate, transportation law, and workers' compensation.

01-17-2006

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Duane Morris, LLP

Duane Morris Partner Nolan Atkinson Receives Barristers' Association of Philadelphia Award
PHILADELPHIA, January 17, 2006 - Duane Morris is pleased to announce that partner Nolan N. Atkinson, Jr., has been named the recipient of the Honorable William F. Hall Award. The award, presented today by the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia at its Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Memorial Breakfast, honors attorneys who show a commitment to Dr. King's values through legal work and efforts to promote diversity and uplift communities.

Nolan chairs the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, Inc., a consortium of law firms and corporations committed to increasing ethnic and racial diversity in Philadelphia's legal environment. He is also chair of the Duane Morris Diversity Committee and head of the firm's Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Nolan has developed his litigation practice over the course of three decades, representing clients such as banks, insurance companies, hospitals and other businesses in matters involving product, toxic tort and complex health-related matters. He is a member of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association as well as the Philadelphia Bar Association. In addition, he has taught trial advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Temple University School of Law.

The Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, an affiliate of the National Bar Association, provides a forum for discussion and dissemination of information on matters of interest to African American attorneys and the Philadelphia African American community as a whole. The organization encompasses a network of more than 1,000 lawyers and jurists who serve in both the private and public sectors of the legal profession.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, Nolan graduated from Boston University in 1964 prior to earning an L.L.B. from Howard University School of Law in 1967. He is a 1969 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he received his L.L.M. in International Law.

01-17-2006

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Duane Morris, LLP

Duane Morris and Hancock Rothert & Bunshoft Complete Merger
PHILADELPHIA, January 17 - Duane Morris LLP announced today the completion of its merger with the former Hancock Rothert & Bunshoft LLP, based in San Francisco. The merger strengthens Duane Morris' California presence and offers clients the resources of one of the most prominent insurance coverage practices in the country.

With the addition of 64 Hancock lawyers, Duane Morris now has more than 600 lawyers in 19 offices; 120 of those lawyers are in California. The firm is projected to generate revenue approaching $350 million in 2006. The merger also enhances Duane Morris' depth of practice, with more than 100 lawyers involved in insurance coverage work.

Former Hancock chair Philip Matthews and former Hancock partner Ray Wong have been appointed to Duane Morris' partners board. In addition, former Hancock partner William Casey has been named head of the firm's Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group.

"In addition to an excellent insurance coverage practice, Hancock brings outstanding litigators with a strong presence in such areas as commercial litigation, technology, professional liability, construction, appellate practice, healthcare and product liability," said Sheldon M. Bonovitz, Chairman of Duane Morris. "The merger allows us the opportunity to offer a full range of legal services to Hancock's client base in areas other than litigation and also provides Duane Morris with the ability to offer more broad-based litigation services to its clients in California."

"The combined firm provides Hancock with deeper bench strength and a national platform as well as an ability to serve and develop its insurance and reinsurance clients in Europe, Bermuda and the United States," added Bonovitz, noting that Duane Morris's full-service London U.K. office has an existing business development presence.

The merger also gives Duane Morris a Los Angeles office, led by Russell Roten, formerly a partner at Coudert Brothers. Four additional Coudert attorneys joined Roten last year. The addition of Roten's group along with Hancock's insurance capabilities provides a great opportunity to better serve insurers facing complex bankruptcy issues involving such matters as asbestos. Duane Morris intends to expand the Los Angeles office, focusing in the areas of commercial litigation and intellectual property. Duane Morris also will continue to expand the Las Vegas office, opened by Hancock in 2005. The firm will maintain Hancock's office in Lake Tahoe, California.

Said Matthews, "The merger allows us to better serve our clients as a true full service, national law firm. Both Duane Morris' entrepreneurial culture and business-savvy approach to client service make it the perfect match for our practice and our clients."

"We thought long and hard about the best partner to achieve our clients' goals and our own," Matthews added. "There is no firm better suited to us than Duane Morris."

Former Hancock attorneys represent U.S. and international companies in a wide range of litigation and transactional areas. Renowned for its work in insurance counseling and defending insurers and reinsurers in complex insurance coverage actions and arbitrations, Hancock has been consistently ranked as the premier insurance firm in California, according to Chambers USA. Hancock attorneys have long represented Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, as well as other London, European, United States and Bermudian insurance and reinsurance companies, some of which are existing Duane Morris clients. The firm is considered to have one of the top insurance coverage and professional liability practices in the country.

For more information about the merger, please contact Joshua Peck at 215.979.7300


01-17-2006

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