Shalyn Watkins

Shalyn S. Watkins is a healthcare attorney in Holland & Knight's Los Angeles office. Ms. Watkins represents various healthcare providers and companies, including, but not limited to, individual providers and provider practices, long-term care and skilled nursing facilities, laboratories, technology companies, and insurers and health plans. She also assists clients with developing and managing compliant healthcare programs.

Ms. Watkins' practice involves assisting clients with regulatory compliance, health information privacy advising, Medicare and Medicaid/Medi-Cal reimbursement and overpayment issues, licensure and credentialing disputes, and transaction due diligence and structuring. Her experience includes knowledge of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), corporate practice of medicine, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), contract disputes, administrative law and regulatory enforcement actions, compensation and policy reviews, and the development and implementation of compliance plans for clients.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Watkins was an attorney at an international law firm. Previously, she served as senior legal counsel for a global healthcare technology company, where she advised its Health Solutions and Pharmacy Solutions subsidiaries on regulatory compliance obligations.

In addition, Ms. Watkins served as assistant regional counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she represented the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Indian Health Service (IHS) and other agencies. During this service, she was also appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for Medicare reimbursement appeals.

Ms. Watkins began her legal career as an assistant attorney general for Ohio, where she practiced in the Health and Human Services Section. In this role, she represented state agencies and professional boards in enforcement actions and litigation.

While in law school, Ms. Watkins served as editor-in-chief of the Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review and competed on the school's Bryant National Health Care Transactional Moot Court Team. She served as the president of the Student Government Association at Stillman College, where she also graduated as valedictorian of her class.