|
Related
links:
- Big firms are getting bigger
— can 'Law-Mart' be far behind?
-
Bankruptcy/Creditors' Rights: Frank
J. Santoro
- Business Law: Allen
C. Goolsby III
- Civil Litigation: James
C. Roberts
- Criminal Law: Anthony F.
Anderson
- Environmental Law: Paul
R. Thomson Jr.
- Family/Domestic Relations: Andrea
R. Stiles
- Intellectual Property: James
R. Creekmore
- Labor/Employment: Harris
D. Butler III
- Legislative/Regulatory: Anthony
F. Troy
- Real Estate/Construction: Joseph
W. Richmond Jr.
- Taxes/Estates/Trusts: Timothy
H. Guare
by
Marjolijn Bijlefeld
For
Virginia Business
December,
2003
Patrick
C. Devine Jr. had the good fortune to be in right place
at the right time. Back in 1982, his father, a urologist,
was among 350 physicians who wanted to start the Tidewater
region’s first HMO. Indeed, it would be only the
second one in the state, and the elder Devine steered
organizers to his son to help sort out the legal issues.
Devine, just out of law school, credits the doctors
for being the brains behind the idea. “I just helped
them do it. They felt that managed care was a bitter
pill to swallow, but if they invented it themselves,
it could be better.”
Patrick C. Devine Jr. |
Setting
up Health First HMO introduced him to a field that has
become increasingly complex. “Health law is a mix
of general corporate and transactional law against a
backdrop of technical regulations that give it a twist,”
says Devine. Over the past decade, the health care industry
has seen many mergers and consolidations, sparking laws
designed to protect consumers. “With the antitrust
laws and privacy laws, there has been a litany of federal
and state laws,” notes Devine.
While
he may have “stumbled,” as he puts it, into
health law, he has built an excellent reputation. As
Paul Kitchen, executive vice president and CEO of the
Medical Society of Virginia says, “You might stumble
in, but you can’t stay in unless you’re damn
good.” Kitchen describes Devine as “an absolute
student of the law” who has been able to draw disparate
parties and experiences together in his practice. “He
has done work for hospitals and physicians, and he has
business clients and is active in the Chamber of Commerce.
His practice has come together in such a way that he
is able to synthesize the business community and the
health care world showing them their mutual interests.”
This
skill was demonstrated when Kitchen called on Devine
several years ago to assist the society with a major
piece of legislation. Devine wrote and helped the group
win approval for the Fair Business Practice Act, which
Kitchen says “was a major victory for us.”
The act provided guidelines on how the managed care
industry could ease some of the administrative and contractual
arrangements with physicians. The law would not have
passed without the backing of the managed care industry.
Encouraging parties with different interests to negotiate
the best resolution produces a better outcome, Devine
believes, for everyone.
As
the son and grandson of physicians, Devine has a sense
of what makes health care providers tick. “At the
end of the day, for most of my clients — whether
they’re practitioners or providers — it’s
not all about money, but it’s about making sure
that patients are well cared for and recover quickly.
The substantial majority of these guys didn’t go
to medical school for any reason other than wanting
to do a little good,” he says.
Devine
received his law degree from the University of Richmond
in 1981; his undergraduate degree from Hampden-Sydney,
and he earned a Master of Law and Taxation from the
College of William and Mary. He’s active in numerous
civic organizations and serves as general counsel for
the Virginia Health Quality Center, which gathers and
analyzes information on quality of care and costs. In
addition, he writes as a contributor for various publications
and speaks on health law topics.
Return
to Virginia Business - December 2003
|
