The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Amanda Zablocki, Partner—Corporate (2022)
Amanda is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in the New York office and Co-Lead of the healthcare team. Amanda represents healthcare and tax-exempt organizations on a wide range of transactional, regulatory, and business matters. She advises clients in connection with complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, and structuring value-based healthcare arrangements. In addition, Amanda routinely advises clients on matters relating to corporate governance, nonprofit law and tax-exemption, fraud, waste and abuse, voluntary disclosures, the corporate practice of medicine, and other regulatory and compliance matters.
Amanda’s clients include hospitals and health systems, academic medical centers, managed care organizations, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, rare disease organizations, independent practice associations, physician practices, management services organizations, and tax-exempt organizations.
Amanda began her career as a litigator, a valuable experience complementing her transactional and regulatory practice. In that regard, Amanda counsels clients on legal, strategic, and practical matters involving both actual and potential disputes and defends clients in connection with governmental audits and investigations. Amanda is Chair of the New York Summer Associate Program, founder and co-leader of the Women in Healthcare Leadership Collaborative, and a member of the Women Lawyers Group National Leadership Council.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
I am a healthcare attorney. I advise clients on a range of matters, with a focus on significant transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. I also routinely advise hospital systems, academic medical centers, health plans, and national physician practice management platforms on how to structure or restructure their organization to maximize opportunities to improve patient outcomes, enhance value-based care and care coordination, realize cost efficiencies, and strengthen provider alignment across their enterprise. In addition, I often act as outside general counsel for clients and regularly represent healthcare organizations in connection with defending against governmental investigations.
What types of clients do you represent?
I represent clients across the country and across the healthcare continuum, including patient driven organizations, hospitals and universities, health plans, laboratories and research organizations, physician practices, clinically integrated networks, telehealth platforms, and private equity firms investing in healthcare organizations. Several of my clients are tax-exempt organizations. I have a number of pro bono clients that are focused on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in various industries and advocacy organizations that seek to advance medical knowledge and support research into new treatments for rare diseases.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
My deals range from large acquisitions to strategic joint venture transactions. For example, I represented Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in connection with its joint venture with Deerfield Management Company to form a physician practice management platform to further value-based care initiatives designed to realize cost efficiencies and ultimately improve patient outcomes. I represented Quartet Health, a tech-enabled mental health company, in connection with its acquisition of InnovaTel Telepsychiatry. I also represented University of Maryland Medical System in connection with its partnership with the State of Maryland to establish a mass vaccination site at M&T Bank Stadium during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How did you choose this practice area?
Like many in the healthcare field, I was drawn to the industry based on personal experiences. When I was a second-year associate, my 8-month-old baby boy was diagnosed with an extremely rare, life-threatening immune deficiency, which sent my husband and me tumbling into the complex healthcare system. In the process of that journey, I witnessed firsthand both the marvels of modern medicine today, as well as its inherent flaws, inequities, inconsistencies, and challenges. When an opportunity arose to join Sheppard Mullin’s innovative and cutting-edge healthcare team, I leapt at it, as it offered the opportunity to work on matters that would drive the transformation of the healthcare system.
What is a typical day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
On the legal side, I spend a large part of my day on calls with clients and team members, strategizing on current and potential deals and reviewing and revising transaction documents. I also spend a fair amount of time staying up to date on the latest developments in healthcare. As a partner, I spend some time each day building and supporting my book of business, whether it’s engaging in business development, attending networking events, managing bills, or pitching to potential clients. I work closely with many of my colleagues on various diversity & inclusion initiatives, both internal and external, including planning programs for the firm’s Women in Healthcare Leadership Collaborative and serving on the firm’s Women Lawyers Group National Leadership Council. I work with other leaders on the healthcare team to develop our broader business plan and strategy for recruiting, retaining and cultivating top talent.
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
For transactional work generally, I would highly recommend taking a Tax 101 course, and/or accounting. On the healthcare side, any course on the Stark Law, federal Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act.
What is the most challenging aspect of practicing in this area?
It is incredibly complex, highly regulated, fast-paced, and constantly in motion.
What do you like best about your practice area?
Every day presents a new puzzle to solve and the reward for solving those puzzles is significant. My clients’ successes are measured by the impact to the health and welfare of the patients they serve, not solely by increases to their bottom lines. I also enjoy being a part of a highly collaborative team of lawyers and, together, we are able to bring to bear decades of experience representing companies across the spectrum of care when advising our clients. We are constantly learning from each other.
What kinds of experience can summer associates gain at this practice area at your firm?
Summer associates interested in healthcare have the opportunity to work on healthcare matters and typically receive the same types of assignments as would be given to a first-year attorney. If a summer associate candidate is interested in practicing healthcare law, we will have that candidate interview with members of the healthcare team to ensure that they get exposure to healthcare matters. Several summer associates expressed an interest in participating in our Women in Healthcare Leadership Collaborative and helped plan events and engage with our members.
In what ways has the coronavirus pandemic affected your practice? How have you adjusted to lawyering in the wake of COVID-19?
The pandemic heightened the importance of the work we do for our healthcare clients. Many of my clients were in crisis, particularly during the first wave in New York City, where I sit and where many of my clients are located. In those first few months, I had to help clients navigate new regulations, establish hospitals without walls, and manage unprecedented situations, all while sitting next to my son while he completed Zoom school in a makeshift office in my bedroom and my husband entertained my daughter in the living room. Personal and professional lives became enmeshed—for me, my colleagues, and my clients. But I believe we came out of that situation more empathetic and more connected.