W. Reece Hirsch

Partner

W. Reece Hirsch is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Healthcare Practice. Mr. Hirsch focuses his practice on healthcare law regulatory and transactional matters. He counsels and represents hospitals, health plans and insurers, physician organizations, healthcare information technology companies, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and other healthcare organizations on transactional and regulatory matters, including Medicare, fraud and abuse, self-referral, and privacy issues.

Mr. Hirsch has specific knowledge in data privacy and security issues that apply to the healthcare industry, including compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. He has advised clients from virtually all sectors of the healthcare industry on privacy and security compliance matters, including assisting them in developing policies and procedures, structuring healthcare information technology ventures, and responding to security breaches. Mr. Hirsch also assists clients in the development and implementation of fraud, abuse, and corporate compliance programs. He counsels healthcare companies on conforming their operations, including recruitment, marketing, and data transmissions, to state and federal healthcare regulatory requirements.

Mr. Hirsch has served as lead transaction counsel on sales and acquisitions of hospitals, medical groups, clinics, and a variety of other healthcare organizations, and he has advised clients on the regulatory implications of joint venture arrangements. He advises clients on corporate matters relating to the formation and ongoing representation of independent practice associations, medical groups, management services organizations, integrated delivery systems, and healthcare technology companies.

Mr. Hirsch advises a wide range of companies outside of the healthcare industry on general privacy and security matters. He has been designated as a Certified Information Privacy Professional by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. In 2012, the California Office of Privacy Protection appointed Mr. Hirsch to an advisory group that will develop a policy guide on the detection, prevention, and response to medical identity theft for providers implementing electronic health records systems.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Hirsch was a partner at an international law firm, focusing on the healthcare industry.

Mr. Hirsch writes a blog on healthcare privacy and security issues for Healthcare Informatics magazine at http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/. He also serves on the editorial advisory board for BNA's Health Law Reporter, Healthcare Informatics, and Briefings on HIPAA publications.

In addition to his memberships in legal associations, Mr. Hirsch serves on the national advisory board of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 in the development of their creative and expository writing skills. He also serves on the board of directors of the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, which is dedicated to rebuilding the village of Marial Bai in southern Sudan.

Mr. Hirsch received his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School in 1990, where he served on the Southern California Law Review. He received his B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University in 1982.

Mr. Hirsch is admitted to practice in California.