Operations Practice Group

Who We Are

• Julie Rapoport Schenker, Senior Business and Litigation Counsel
• Sue Dent, Associate Counsel
• Dena Terra, Associate Counsel
• Sandra Benzer, UM Capital General Counsel, UMMS Business and Litigation Counsel
• Emily Wein, UMMC Vice President and General Counsel
• Trevor H. Coe, Associate Counsel

What We Do

Our attorneys provide legal advice, guidance, and support in a variety of areas pertaining to UMMS and member organization operations and legal matters.

We regularly handle a range of matters, including:

• Dispute Resolution and Management
• Government Investigations and Inquiries
• Internal Investigations
• Litigation Support and Management
• Non-Referral Source Agreements, including:
  • Charitable Giving Agreements and other Trusts and Estates issues
  • Memoranda of Understanding
  • Non-Disclosure Agreements
  • Student Affiliation Agreements
    • For SSAs involving compensation, see Transactions & Regulatory.       
  • Transfer Agreements

• Operations Counseling
• Policy Review
• Subpoena Responses (requests for documents or for testimony)
  • Subpoena FAQ (PDF)

We address matters in a range of substantive areas, including:

• Corporate governance
• Criminal Law
• EMTALA
• Fraud and abuse
• Licensing and reporting requirements  
• Medical Staff support
• Patient care questions, e.g. :
  • AMA discharges and elopements
  • Consent and capacity
  • Guardianships
  • IVA and Behavioral Health
  • Surrogate decision making
• Patient disputes[1]
• Real estate questions, e.g. :
  • Negotiating and drafting leases
  • Contract disputes
  • Landlord/Tenant disputes

• Security and privacy questions, e.g. :
  • HIPAA and privacy concerns
  • Information Blocking

• Trusts and estates
• Vendor relationships and disputes

[1] Examples include, but are not limited to, patient billing, informed consent compliance, privacy, and customer services issues.  For medical malpractice claims, please contact MMCIP.