Rebecca J. Merrill

Rebecca Merrill is a healthcare attorney in Holland & Knight's Atlanta office and a member of the firm's national Healthcare & Life Sciences Team.

Ms. Merrill focuses her national practice on advising healthcare providers and life sciences organizations on a range of complex healthcare regulatory matters, including advising clients through internal and government directed investigations and with respect to False Claims Act (FCA) matters, Medicare and Medicaid overpayments, reimbursement issues and strategies, enrollment, licensure and scope of practice issues, fraud and abuse (including Stark Law and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute), and privacy, security and confidentiality matters, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009.

Ms. Merrill also counsels clients on clinical research matters, including regulatory aspects of conducting research; policies, procedures, workflows and operations; regulatory and transactional issues involved in the sharing of data and materials (including biospecimens); compliance; investigations and management of research misconduct allegations; conflicts of interest and commitment; and the development and negotiation of various clinical research and research adjacent contracts (including, e.g., clinical trial agreements, data sharing agreements, material transfer agreements, data registry and biorepository agreements, and development agreements).

In addition to her in-depth regulatory and government enforcement experience, Ms. Merrill counsels health systems, providers and suppliers with regard to complex transactions, including acquisitions and roll-up strategies, dispositions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances and partnerships. Ms. Merrill also advises healthcare providers on a variety of corporate matters, including contracting, employment and corporate governance issues.

Ms. Merrill's skills as a strategic and efficient problem-solver are lauded by her clients, making her a "go-to" resource for efficient resolution of complex healthcare compliance and transactional matters.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Merrill was a healthcare attorney for a global law firm in its Atlanta office, and practiced for a few years in Boston prior to relocating to Atlanta. Ms. Merrill previously worked in project management with a nationally recognized health insurance company.