Former In-House Counsel Jeffrey Peterson Joins McGuireWoods

DALLAS – Jeffrey M. Peterson, former senior transactional counsel for a Fortune 200 diversified healthcare services company, has joined McGuireWoods’ healthcare practice as a partner in the firm’s Dallas office.

Peterson’s practice will focus on representing hospitals and healthcare systems in a wide range of strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, affiliations, and joint ventures. He comes to McGuireWoods from Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, where he played a critical role advising the Acquisition and Development department. Tenet operates 83 acute care hospitals, 19 short-stay surgical hospitals and more than 400 outpatient centers in the United States, as well as nine facilities in the United Kingdom.

Peterson gained considerable experience advising healthcare clients during a period of rampant industry consolidation that coincided with implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was involved with acquisitions and divestitures of hospitals, outpatient centers, independent physician associations, and management services organizations. Peterson also has experience in the formation of strategic partnerships between for-profit and nonprofit health systems to operate healthcare businesses and pursue other development initiatives.

In addition, Peterson has handled transactions involving accountable care organizations, physician practices and health plans. He also has experience in emerging healthcare industries, such as population health management companies and revenue cycle management arrangements. Peterson has advised clients on complex regulatory processes such as conversion statutes, certificate of need applications, state attorney general filings and approvals, and Hart-Scott-Rodino and other antitrust matters.

“Jeff’s experience in a large, publicly-traded healthcare system gives him a unique perspective on the challenges hospitals and other providers face in a rapidly changing marketplace,” said Amber McGraw Walsh, chair of McGuireWoods’ healthcare practice. “His skill set will be a tremendous asset for us and for our clients.”

McGuireWoods is a leader in bringing together healthcare providers and investors. The firm hosts an annual healthcare-focused private equity, lending and finance conference in Chicago that attracts lenders, investors, C-level executives and healthcare and life sciences executives to explore strategies for closing transactions and achieving growth.

Peterson’s arrival continues McGuireWoods’ aggressive growth in Texas, which accelerated last year when the firm opened its Dallas office with six lawyers. The firm now has 30 lawyers in Dallas. Earlier this year, Texas Lawyer ranked McGuireWoods the fastest growing firm in Texas for 2014 as it increased the number of lawyers in its Houston, Dallas and Austin offices by 63 percent from the previous year.

“Jeff will play a major role in growing our healthcare practice in Dallas and his transactional experience will complement our strong private equity team,” said Akash Sethi, managing partner of the McGuireWoods’ Dallas office. “He is an important addition for us and we’re delighted to welcome him to the firm.”

Peterson earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from The University of Texas in 1997 and his law degree from The University of Houston Law Center in 2002. He is the third partner this year to join McGuireWoods from a corporate counsel position.

“McGuireWoods has built a strong national profile for its work in the healthcare industry, which allows me to take my experience and branch out to represent other companies in this dynamic industry,” Peterson said. “I’m also excited to be part of the highly regarded team the firm is building in Dallas.”

McGuireWoods has a team of more than 60 experienced, industry-focused lawyers working with clients to navigate regulatory, litigation and transactional matters in the healthcare industry in the United States and abroad. The firm is ranked No. 8 on the American Health Lawyers Association’s annual Top Ten list, which was published in the June 2015 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine. The list recognizes firms with the largest number of AHLA members.

McGuireWoods LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.mcguirewoods.com. Its full-service public affairs arm, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, offers infrastructure and economic development, strategic communications and grassroots advocacy, and government relations solutions.