Skip to main content
Overview
Karen Palestini’s practice focuses on providing a broad range of business governance, regulatory compliance, and transactional advice to owners, directors, investors, and in-house counsel in a wide variety of industries. Karen has led internal investigations, designed disclosure and response strategies, negotiated settlements, positioned organizational activities in anticipation of litigation, evaluated and executed asset and equity transfers, and implemented complex and comprehensive affiliation arrangements.
While Karen’s experiences span many industry segments, she has been involved in highly-regulated industries – such as healthcare, education, environmental services, and life sciences – throughout her career. Karen has been on the buying and selling sides of transactions involving hospitals, surgery centers, medical practices, professional service firms, fitness centers, restaurants, waste facilities, parking garages, equipment suppliers, and retail establishments. She has also led cross-disciplinary teams of tax attorneys, IP attorneys, real estate attorneys, employment/benefit attorneys, anti-trust attorneys, and industry consultants to effectuate all types and scales of affiliations among health systems, universities, pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations, and others both domestically and internationally.
Karen has spoken at many industry-sponsored events, where she has presented in connection with ACOs/CINs, payor/provider ventures, and various types of transactional and affiliational structures in highly-regulated environments. She has also lectured extensively on state licensure, Stark, Anti-Kickback, False Claims Act, HIPAA, and related areas of heightened transactional compliance consideration for business organizations and their executive and management teams.
Representative Experience
- As lead transactional counsel, Karen represented the first for-profit hospital in the State of New Jersey as part of its operational launch through a complex series of transactions pursuant to which the for-profit hospital purchased the facility of a non-profit hospital that was subject to a closure order. Among other things, Karen interacted with various state officials, including representatives of the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office, to address potential impediments to the transactions, including the establishment of a Community Need Trust under the Community Health Care Assets Protection Act (“CHAPA”).
- As a key member of a multi-disciplinary task force in the organ procurement organization (“OPO”) industry, Karen was invited to serve as the OPO’s lead transactional counsel in connection with the launch of an innovative business model to enhance the availability and safety of organ and tissue donations. Karen crafted the overall organizational structure, involving numerous for-profit and non-profit constituencies, as well as the creation of a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, which allowed for the efficient use and coordination of patents, workforces, and finances (including but not limited to grant funding).
- Karen has represented buyers, sellers, and managers of physician practices, ASCs, and other healthcare concerns, including those involving private equity funds. Among the specialties represented include neurosciences, anesthesia services, telehealth, surgical services, cardiovascular services, and primary care services.
- In connection with numerous internal investigations for healthcare provider entities arising as a result of compliance reports, complaints, and alleged employee misconduct, Karen has coordinated statistical, medical and market evidence; OPRA/databank requests; and remedial efforts with governmental agencies and other parties.
Professional & Community Activities
- Member, American Health Lawyers Association
- Honorary Trustee, Wills Eye Hospital Glaucoma Service Foundation
- Trustee, Delaware River Recreation Foundation
Professional Recognition
- Taught courses in Health Care Law, Health Care Transactions Health Care Ethics, and Education Law at Seton Hall Law School and St. Joseph’s University
- Served a federal clerkship with the Honorable Joseph L. McGlynn, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Served as a member of AHLA’s Health Care Transactions Program Faculty
Further information on methodologies is available via these links.
Representative Experience
- As lead transactional counsel, Karen represented the first for-profit hospital in the State of New Jersey as part of its operational launch through a complex series of transactions pursuant to which the for-profit hospital purchased the facility of a non-profit hospital that was subject to a closure order. Among other things, Karen interacted with various state officials, including representatives of the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office, to address potential impediments to the transactions, including the establishment of a Community Need Trust under the Community Health Care Assets Protection Act (“CHAPA”).
- As a key member of a multi-disciplinary task force in the organ procurement organization (“OPO”) industry, Karen was invited to serve as the OPO’s lead transactional counsel in connection with the launch of an innovative business model to enhance the availability and safety of organ and tissue donations. Karen crafted the overall organizational structure, involving numerous for-profit and non-profit constituencies, as well as the creation of a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, which allowed for the efficient use and coordination of patents, workforces, and finances (including but not limited to grant funding).
- Karen has represented buyers, sellers, and managers of physician practices, ASCs, and other healthcare concerns, including those involving private equity funds. Among the specialties represented include neurosciences, anesthesia services, telehealth, surgical services, cardiovascular services, and primary care services.
- In connection with numerous internal investigations for healthcare provider entities arising as a result of compliance reports, complaints, and alleged employee misconduct, Karen has coordinated statistical, medical and market evidence; OPRA/databank requests; and remedial efforts with governmental agencies and other parties.