Waller Adds Healthcare Attorneys

Nashville, Tenn. – Waller, a law firm with one of the nation’s preeminent healthcare departments, recently announced the addition of two seasoned healthcare attorneys to the firm’s Austin, Texas office. Michelle D. Apodaca joins as of counsel and Fletcher H. Brown as a partner. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Waller also has offices in Birmingham, Alabama.

“We are excited to have Michelle and Fletcher join our team, as both will play a critical role in growing our Austin office and expanding Waller’s reach in Texas,” said John Tishler, chairman of Waller. “Their experience as distinguished healthcare attorneys will not only complement our firm’s existing strengths, but will allow us to provide a wider array of legal expertise to our Texas clients.”

Brown will focus on the areas of healthcare compliance and operations, policies and procedures, physician contracting, board governance, HIPAA and HITECH patient privacy issues. As partner at Waller, he will assist hospitals, health systems, physician practices and other healthcare providers in Texas with operational and regulatory issues. Previously, Brown served as Director at Austin-based Davis & Wright, P.C., where he focused extensively on health law issues in the state of Texas.

Brown is a member of the Austin Bar Association’s Health Law Section and State Bar of Texas and American Health Lawyers Association. Additionally, he serves as chairman of the board of directors for CommunityCare, a federally qualified health clinic serving the Travis County underserved patient population. Brown earned his B.B.A from Baylor University and his J.D. from Baylor University School of Law.

Apodaca’s practice will focus on healthcare regulatory compliance and operations, and serving as an advocate with the Texas Legislature. Apodaca brings a unique combination of perspectives to Waller with prior experience serving as a legislative assistant for a U.S. Congressman in Washington, D.C. and Texas state senator in Austin, working with the Texas Hospital Association,  and working as a compliance officer and in-house counsel with a managed care organization. She is a Health Section Governing Council member for the American Bar Association, and co-chair of the Association’s Washington Health Law Summit.

Additionally, Apodaca is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Hispanic Bar Association, Austin Health Lawyers Association, Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas and the Seton Fifty. She is former chair of the Government Relations and Medicaid Task  Force Committee for the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, and is a graduate of Leadership Texas, Leadership El Paso and currently serves as an a affiliate member of Leadership Austin among others. Apodaca earned her B.A. in business administration from Austin College and J.D. from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.

About Waller

Waller is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with offices in Birmingham, Alabama and Austin, Texas.  With approximately 200 attorneys, Waller helps clients navigate a diverse range of complex transactional, regulatory and litigation issues across myriad industries. Waller is Nashville’s oldest and largest law firm. Founded in 1905, Waller has client relationships spanning decades because time and again, clients come for the lawyer and stay for the firm. For more information, please visit www.wallerlaw.com.

POSTED BY LAWDRAGON NEWS