Sheppard Mullin Adds Two Partners

NEW YORK, June 10, 2014 — Jay E. Gerzog and Eric L. Altman have joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP’s New York office as members of the firm’s Healthcare practice, which was recognized in January 2014 by Law360 as U.S. Health Law Practice Group of the Year.  Gerzog joins as a partner in the firm’s Corporate practice group and Altman joins as a partner in the Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental practice group.  Gerzog will also be a member of Sheppard Mullin’s Not-for-Profit industry group.  They join from Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.  Tamar R. Rosenberg, a senior associate at Epstein Becker, with significant experience in representing hospitals and a wide variety of other not-for-profit institutions on tax-exemption and corporate compliance matters, will be joining Gerzog and Altman at Sheppard. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Jay and Eric, who bring healthcare industry expertise to our New York office.  In addition to the growth of our Healthcare practice, Jay, Eric and Tamar expand and deepen our transactional, not-for-profit/tax-exempt institution and real estate capabilities," said Guy N. Halgren, chairman of Sheppard Mullin.

"Jay and Eric join Sheppard Mullin as part of our ongoing strategic goal to expand our healthcare industry capabilities and to assist clients as they meet the challenges of healthcare reform.  They are accomplished attorneys who work with leading New York hospital systems, and their healthcare and not-for-profit transactional and real estate practices dovetail well with our Healthcare group and the firm.  Jay and Eric bring strong health system merger and acquisition and strategic alliance capabilities to our East Coast healthcare practice, and they will work with Sheppard Mullin’s national healthcare team in many of the innovative population health management and value-based reimbursement systems projects we are undertaking today,” said Eric A. Klein, Sheppard Mullin’s Healthcare practice chair. 

"Eric Altman and I are thrilled to join Sheppard Mullin together.  We have been very impressed by the firm's strategic vision, well-managed growth, and accomplishments in the health industry. Sheppard Mullin provides us with a very strong platform, and a deep bench of very experienced attorneys in diverse practice specialties, which is essential to enable us to provide the best possible service to our clients.  Sheppard has a dynamic group of healthcare attorneys who have extensive experience implementing the innovative programs and transactions that are reshaping the nation’s healthcare system, and that are increasingly being focused on in the East Coast.  Sheppard’s healthcare attorneys have for several years been deeply involved in these cutting-edge health reform-induced deals, which puts Sheppard well ahead of the curve on being able to achieve successful results and value for clients.  The next five years in the healthcare industry are critical, and we concluded that Sheppard Mullin best positions us to be able to help our healthcare industry clients successfully navigate through this evolution.  I look forward to continuing to practice with Eric and Tamar, as well as further grow the firm’s Healthcare industry practice on the East Coast with Eric Klein and Sheppard Mullin’s healthcare team," Gerzog commented.

Gerzog advises clients on the corporate, healthcare, federal tax and state not-for-profit law implications of structuring complex corporate affiliations and disaffiliations, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions among tax-exempt organizations and between tax-exempt and for-profit organizations, particularly those involving hospitals, academic medical centers, managed care organizations, physician groups and other healthcare providers and payers.  He counsels governing boards and senior management of tax-exempt and not-for-profit institutions on the development and implementation of corporate organizational structures, corporate governance, fiduciary duties, conflict of interest, ethics, audit, and executive compensation best practices and tax-exempt status compliance programs and policies, including management structures and internal control systems, to prevent and detect violations of law.  Gerzog has extensive experience in representing not-for-profit clients with the state and federal tax and not-for-profit law regulatory process in corporate restructurings, reorganizations, and conversions of not-for-profit organizations to for-profit status.  Together with Altman, Gerzog has played a central role in many of the hospital system restructuring transactions that have reshaped the New York health care market.

Gerzog assists clients with obtaining and maintaining qualification for tax-exempt and public charity status; private inurement and private benefit issues; compliance with state not-for-profit laws, federal private foundation and public charity excess benefit transaction sanctions, and lobbying limitations; Form 990 reporting; unrelated business income tax; foreign charitable activities; executive compensation; grant-making and scholarship award issues; fund-raising and issues relating to endowment funds and restricted gifts. 

Gerzog received a LL.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1992, a J.D., with honors, from George Washington University in 1985 and a B.A.,magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Colgate University in 1982. 

Altman has extensive experience in representing domestic and global clients in all aspects of complex commercial real estate transactions on a national and local basis.  Altman represents clients in connection with large institutional facilities, clinics, assisted care facilities, and medical office buildings to help manage their healthcare-related real estate assets.  He assists clients with the acquisition, development, and disposition of commercial, industrial, and office properties. 

In addition to approximately half of his practice focused on health industry-related real estate transactions, Altman also represents both banks and borrowers in all areas of commercial lending transactions, including acquisition loans, construction loans, and permanent financing and refinancing on all types of properties.  He represents both landlords and tenants in connection with all aspects of their commercial leasing, construction, and improvements.  Altman represents clients in single and portfolio asset acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures and equity participations, distressed assets transactions, loan workouts, and purchases and sales of performing and non-performing loan portfolios.  His practice is national in scope, and he has completed representative transactions in almost every state. 

Altman received a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1986 and a B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1983.

Sheppard Mullin has 70 attorneys based in its New York office. The firm's Healthcare practice includes 90 attorneys firm wide. 

Last month, Michael V. Solomita joined Sheppard Mullin’s New York office as a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group from Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein. 

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard Mullin is a full service Global 100 firm with 670 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia.  Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions.  In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100.  For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.