Overview
Ryan Morris concentrates his practice on corporate and healthcare transactions. He serves as an advisor to corporate clients and healthcare companies in all stages of business. Ryan’s practice focuses on:
- Acquisitions and sales of businesses, including medical, dental, and other professional practices, ambulatory surgical centers, assisted living facilities, imaging centers, laboratories, home health agencies, and other types of licensed and non-licensed businesses
- Structuring arrangements to comply with laws and regulations, including the Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, Florida Patient Self-Referral Act, Florida Patient Brokering Act, and corporate practice of medicine laws
- Healthcare and health system joint ventures, mergers, and other contractual arrangements
- Licensing and other governmental approvals
- Payor contracting and reimbursement matters, including alternative payment models
- Physician employment and independent contractor agreements
- Change in ownership and control reporting and approvals
In addition to healthcare regulatory and transactional work, Ryan regularly handles a diverse range of general corporate and commercial transactions. Examples of these matters include:
- Entity formation, governance, and break-ups
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Reorganizations and recapitalizations
- Vendor and supplier contracting
- Due diligence
- Buy-ins and buy-outs
Ryan actively represents private equity funds, publicly traded companies, family offices, portfolio companies, and closely held businesses. He regularly advises companies and law firms located outside of Florida and Georgia on healthcare legal and regulatory matters specific to Florida and Georgia.
Experience
- Closed over a dozen mental health practice acquisitions for a private equity backed mental health enterprise.
- Served as sellers’ counsel for a 70+ physician regional practice’s combination with another practice.
- Sale of a multi-location primary care practice with predominately risk-based payor arrangements.
- Successfully closed and integrated seven primary care and multi-specialty medical practice add-on acquisitions on behalf of a medical practice.
- Implemented trading partner agreements for a healthcare clearinghouse.
- Coordinated a client’s purchase of multiple dentistry practices.
- Negotiated the equity purchase of a large radiology practice.
- Finalized the purchase of an ophthalmology and optometry practice on behalf of another practice.
- Negotiated a joint venture between a clinical research company and a large single-specialty practice.
- Closed the merger of a nonprofit entity operating multiple hospice and palliative care facilities with another nonprofit entity.
- Structured the purchase of Georgia and Florida pain management clinics and obtained the necessary regulatory approvals.
- Reorganized a multi-location, multi-specialty medical practice.
- Represented a publicly traded company in a series of add-on acquisitions.
- Advised multi-specialty practices on all aspects of implementing laboratory operations including revenue allocations, billing and reimbursement, management, marketing, and licensure.
- Negotiated the purchase of a laboratory that was in bankruptcy.
- Advised multiple companies regarding the implementation of new telemedicine operations and optimal compliance practices.
- Negotiated a joint venture between a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) software company and a laboratory.
- Defended a client in connection with a Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigation based on allegations of unlicensed professional practice and fraudulent billing. The investigation was closed without penalty.
- Represented the buyer in its acquisition of a Florida-licensed nurse registry.
News & Insights
- “Shocking Testimony About Aetna: Lessons for Health Care Counsel,” The Daily Report, 2018
Involvement
Professional Associations & Memberships
- Florida Bar, Health Law Section
- Georgia Bar, Health Law Section
Education
- Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, GA, J.D., 2015
- University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, B.S., summa cum laude, 2011
Admissions
- Florida Bar, 2019
- Georgia Bar, 2015
- Georgia State Courts, 2015
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 2018
