Nossaman has expanded its Healthcare Practice Group with the addition of veteran healthcare lawyers Scott Schoeffel and Julie Simer, who join as Partners in the Firm’s Orange County office. Mr. Schoeffel and Ms. Simer bring over sixty years of industry experience to Nossaman. They join from Buchalter Nemer.

Mr. Schoeffel’s practice emphasizes the representation of hospitals and other healthcare providers. He has substantial experience in healthcare provider operations, strategic development and regulation of healthcare delivery systems, state and federal health care regulation, licensing and counseling of healthcare service plans, managed care contracting and dispute resolution, antitrust, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, administrative law, and government affairs. Mr. Schoeffel also has an extensive background in corporate legal and management positions, serving as vice president and assistant general counsel of a national publicly-traded hospital company and as executive vice president and general counsel of a publicly-traded hospital system in Orange County, California.

Ms. Simer represents a wide range of health care businesses, with a focus on hospitals and health systems. She has significant experience in regulatory compliance, managed care, and privacy, as well as the operational challenges facing the healthcare industry. Over the course of her career, her responsibilities have included serving as outside compliance counsel for a number of California hospital systems; advising hospital systems on terms of managed care contracts and assisting with negotiation; advising clients on Affordable Care Act requirements for ERISA plans; and providing HIPAA training to hospital systems compliance officers.

“We are excited to welcome Scott and Julie to the Firm,” said Tom Curtis, Chair of the Healthcare Practice Group. “They have stellar reputations in the California market and beyond, and their collective experience in the healthcare sector will add significant value for our clients and enhance an already strong practice group.”

Nossaman’s Healthcare Practice Group concentrates its efforts in the transactional, regulatory, operational, legislative and litigation arenas, and has been perennially ranked by Chambers as one of the leading healthcare groups in California. The Firm has a rich history in the field, with its preeminence in healthcare law beginning with the landmark efforts of the Firm’s senior healthcare lawyers. These efforts include those of former Firm Partner and State Assemblyman John T. Knox, co-author of the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 and the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act and current Partner Richard Spohn, who was and remains outside counsel and collaborator in the conceptualization, regulatory approval and implementation of the first private sector healthcare services exchange, the CaliforniaChoice program, which is today the oldest and largest of such structures.

“The Firm’s resources, market presence, and outstanding team of lawyers have impressed me,” added Mr. Schoeffel. “I am thrilled to join Nossaman, and look forward to working with my new colleagues to help our clients meet their business objectives and successfully prepare for anticipated changes in the healthcare industry under the new administration.”

“Nossaman’s robust, industry-leading Healthcare Practice Group and deep roots in California make it a great fit for me. Its practice platform will allow me to provide strategic, forward-looking advice to clients in what is certain to be a dynamic time in the healthcare field given the recent election,” added Ms. Simer. “I am delighted to join, and look forward to helping the Firm grow.”

Mr. Schoeffel was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for CalOptima, a county organized health system that provides publicly funded health care coverage for low-income children, adults, seniors and people with disabilities in Orange County, California. He currently serves as a member of the City Council of Dana Point (2008-present), and served as that city’s Mayor in 2011 and its Mayor Pro Tem in 2010. Prior to his service on the City Council, he was a member of the Dana Point Planning Commission for close to 12 years (1997-2008), where he served as Chairman multiple times. He also serves by City Council appointment as a Director of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency Board of Directors (2010-present; Chairman 2011-2012 and 2014-2015) and as Director of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency Board of Directors (2015-present). He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Ms. Simer serves on the Quality Council of the American Health Lawyers Association. She is also a member of the California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and the Arizona Association for Health Care Attorneys. She is currently a member of the Orange Coast College Foundation Board of Directors. She received a J.D. degree with honors from Drake University Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors from the University of Illinois. She also holds a Master of Public Health Degree from the University of California – Berkeley.

Additionally, Mr. Schoeffel and Ms. Simer co-authored the AHLA Health Plan Disputes and Litigation Practice Guide, which was published by the American Health Lawyers Association.

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