Robert M. Portman

Robert M. Portman joined Powers Pyles Sutter and Verville, PC in 2007, having previously practiced for many years at Jenner & Block. Mr. Portman concentrates his practice in health and association law, focusing on certification law, administrative law, antitrust law, litigation, transactions, election and lobbying law, and legislation and regulation in the health care field. He represents a wide range of non-profit health care organizations including a large number of national professional societies, trade associations, other health care associations, voluntary health organizations and certification bodies, as well as numerous individual physicians, physician practice groups and other health care providers.

Mr. Portman counsels his professional society, health care association, voluntary health organization and certification body clients on the full spectrum of legal issues facing these entities, including:

Transactions, mergers and corporate restructuring
Creation of nonprofit and for-profit affiliates
Executive contracts and compensation issues
Bylaws drafting and review and other governance issues
Antitrust, tax and intellectual property
Internet and e-commerce
Consultant, vendor, and hotel and convention center contracts
Americans with Disabilities Act compliance
Drafting and interpreting ethics and standard-setting policies and procedures, appeals and disciplinary procedures, and confidentiality, record keeping and other policies
Personnel and other human resource issues

Mr. Portman also represents these clients in legislative and regulatory matters, including legislative drafting and analysis, the filing of comments on administrative rulemakings before the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. In addition, Mr. Portman represents association and certification clients in litigation against federal and state governments, as well as private parties. He regularly files amicus curiae briefs in the United States Supreme Court and other federal and state appellate courts in matters involving significant health care policy issues.

Mr. Portman also advises professional societies, trade associations, and corporations on various lobbying and election law issues, including compliance with FEC and IRS rules and regulations governing lobbying registration and reporting, establishment and operation of political action committees, independent expenditures, and corporate communications.

Mr. Portman advises physicians, practice groups and other health care providers on a variety of issues, including:

Counseling with respect to HIPAA patient privacy rules
Fraud and abuse investigations defense and compliance counseling
Stark II self-referral and Medicare-Medicaid anti-kickback counseling
Transactions with hospitals, other medical groups, individual physicians and vendors of medical equipment and supplies
Practice sales and acquisitions
Establishment and operation of integrated delivery networks, including physician-owned networks and physician-hospital joint ventures
Advice and counseling with respect to employment, independent contractor and managed care agreements
Antitrust litigation and counseling
Counseling and defense of litigation involving EMTALA
State licensure and disciplinary matters
Credentialing and privileges disputes with hospitals and managed care organizations
Medical staff bylaws disputes

Mr. Portman left Jenner & Block for two years to serve as Special Assistant to Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Work and Technology Policy. During this time (1993-1995), he served as the Secretary's principal representative to the President's Task Force on Health Care Reform. Prior to private practice, Mr. Portman was Executive Officer of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Chicago for two years, where, among other things, he directed the States Attorney's Task Force on the Forgoing of Life-Sustaining Treatment.

Mr. Portman is an active member of the health law sections of the American Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association, the American Society of Medical Association Counsel and the American Society of Association Executives. Mr. Portman is currently serving as a member of the ASAE Legal Section Council and Chair of the Association Law & Policy Committee. He is also Immediate Past Chair of the Council on Sections for the District of Columbia Bar. He has lectured and written numerous articles on health care, association and certification legal issues.

Mr. Portman received his BA, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Northwestern University in 1980, where he was also on the Dean’s List. He received his JD, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1985. He also earned a masters in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 1985 and was a visiting student at Yale Law School in 1984-85, where he was a finalist in the school’s Thurmond Arnold Moot Court Competition. Mr. Portman served in the first class of clerks for the Honorable Mark L. Wolf, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in 1985-86. He is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court, the Illinois and District of Columbia Bars and the bars of numerous federal courts.