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Tag: healthcare practice

Business legal services in Silicon Valley

Business Attorney for Doctors, Nurses and Medical Personnel

business lawyer for medical personnel

Building, growing, and managing a successful business is complicated — particularly for doctors, medical specialists, and other health care providers who must navigate some unique regulatory and logistical challenges. Attorney Lynette Ariathurai is a skilled business law advocate with extensive experience representing physicians and other health professionals. For a confidential consultation with a California business lawyer for medical professionals, please call our Fremont office at 510-794-9290 or send us a message online.

We Provide Business Services for Doctors and Medical Professionals in the Bay Area

Business Formation

We help health industry professionals and entrepreneurs form businesses under California law. The state’s Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act imposes significant restrictions on the ownership and control of many companies in the medical industry. Our firm will help you and your partners form a professional corporation that provides strong liability protection. We also advise health practitioners and entrepreneurs with buying and selling businesses and organizations. 

Regulatory Compliance

Professional corporations in the health care industry must navigate complex regulatory compliance issues, including things like the Stark Law, federal anti-kickback statutes, and California state rules. Our founding business attorney Lynette Ariathurai has the knowledge and legal skill to help you understand your obligations.

Professional Licensure Issues

Business attorney Lynette Ariathurai helps physicians and other health professionals navigate the full spectrum of professional licensing issues. If you are a doctor, a nurse, a dentist, an optometrist, or any other health industry business owner with questions about a professional license, we are here to provide guidance.

Contract Review and Negotiation

Contracts are at the foundation of most commercial relationships. Our business lawyer for medical practitioners provides representation on business contracts. If you have any questions or concerns about the drafting, review, or negotiation of business contracts, we are more than happy to help.

Employment Law

Many professional medical corporations in California have employees. Lynette Ariathurai provides a full range of employment law services for employers. Our focus is on helping you and your business partners put the proper structure in place to prevent claims, including employee handbooks, employment law agreements, and advising employers on wage & hour laws, worker discipline and termination.

Dispute Resolution

Disputes happen. If you are involved in a dispute with a patient, an employee, a vendor/supplier, a competing firm, or any other party, it is crucial that you take immediate action. With experience in mediation, arbitration, and litigation, our Fremont, CA business law firm will protect your rights and help your professional practice find the best path forward.

Get Help from Our California Business Lawyer for Medical Professionals

Attorney Lynette Ariathurai is committed to protecting the rights and interests of clients. We provide reliable, solutions-driven business representation to physicians and other medical personnel. Contact our law firm now to schedule a confidential appointment with a skilled attorney. From our Fremont office, we provide business services to doctors, nurses, and medical professionals throughout the region, including those in Newark, Hayward, East Bay, Milpitas, Union City, San Leandro, Gilroy, San Jose, and Santa Clara.

business contracts, healthcare practice, licensure, Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act

Business legal services in Silicon Valley

Medical Partnerships, Leases and Entity Formations

If you are planning to open your own medical practice in California, it is critical to understand how California law affects your ability to choose a business structure for your medical practice and to enter into business with other healthcare professionals. Generally speaking, California law allows physicians to operate medical practices as sole proprietorships, partnerships with other physicians, and as professional medical corporations. Other types of common business structures are not permitted under California law for healthcare businesses. Beyond entity formation, physicians and other healthcare providers who are considering the possibility of starting a new practice will also have to consider specific issues when it comes to leasing commercial space for a healthcare business.

Our experienced California business formation lawyer can help. Attorney Lynnette Ariathurai serves business owners throughout Northern California.

Forming a Medical Partnership

If you are thinking about opening a new medical practice and want to keep the structure of your business relatively simple, California law allows you to form a partnership (or to operate your healthcare practice as a sole proprietorship). However, any physician or other healthcare professional in California should learn more about the limitations of medical partnerships in relation to personal liability and taxation as well as the benefits of creating different business structures for the assets of the business versus the medical practice. Many healthcare providers and medical professionals who open new or are expanding practices find benefits in forming a professional medical corporation. 

Professional Corporations for Medical Practices

Under California law, healthcare practices cannot form traditional certain business structures such as a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation when forming a business. Instead, professional healthcare providers, including licensed physicians, surgeons, nurses, chiropractors, psychologists, optometrists, clinical social workers, and many other professionals must create a professional medical corporation. There are many benefits to forming a professional medical corporation, including limiting liability (some limitations arising out of medical malpractice), as well as tax benefits similar to those of an S-Corporation.

The Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act explicitly outlines the types of professional services that are provided in a professional medical corporation, and what kinds of healthcare providers or medical professionals can be officers, directors, and own shares in these types of corporations.

Commercial Lease Considerations for Healthcare Practices

In addition to the complicated issues surrounding entity formation for healthcare practices and businesses, it is important to work with a California business lawyer on any commercial lease for a healthcare practice. There are a variety of issues that you should consider in your lease beyond those that might appear in another kind of commercial lease, such as:

  • Tenant and landlord responsibilities concerning HIPAA and patient files stored on the premises
  • Medical waste and removal
  • Use of medical devices and storage of medical materials on the premises
  • CAM or NNN expense distribution between landlord and tenant
  • Parking space for patients

Contact a California Entity Formation Lawyer

If you are a healthcare provider and are considering your options for starting a new practice, it is critical to seek advice from a California entity formation attorney about the nuances of entity formation for medical partnerships and corporations, as well as the complexities of medical commercial real estate leases.

Attorney Lynnette Ariathurai is committed to representing business owners in Northern California and can speak with you today about medical entity formation. We serve business owners in Fremont, Hayward, San Leandro, Gilroy, Milpitas, Union City, East Bay, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Newark. Contact us for more information about how we can assist you with your new medical practice.

business attorney, california law, commercial lease, healthcare practice, Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act