Healthcare Attorney Fort Lauderdale

Starting a healthcare practice is one of the most significant professional and financial decisions a healthcare provider will make. The legal foundation of a new practice — entity selection and formation, operational agreements, credentialing with insurance payers, employment and contractor agreements, lease negotiation, and regulatory compliance — must be established correctly from day one. Errors in the formation stage create legal and financial exposure that can be difficult and expensive to remedy once the practice is operational.

At The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC, we guide healthcare professionals through every dimension of new practice formation. We advise on the optimal business entity structure for a healthcare practice — professional association, professional limited liability company, or standard LLC — taking into account Florida's specific requirements for professional entities under Chapter 621, Florida Statutes. We handle the complete formation process, draft foundational operational agreements, counsel on payer credentialing and participation agreements, and ensure every aspect of the new practice's legal infrastructure is properly established before the doors open. Our goal is to give every healthcare professional we represent the strongest possible legal foundation for their practice from the very first day.

The acquisition or sale of a healthcare practice is a major transaction that requires the same level of legal precision as any commercial M&A deal — combined with the additional complexity of healthcare regulatory compliance, professional licensing requirements, and payer credentialing considerations. Florida law imposes specific requirements on the ownership and operation of healthcare practices that affect how transactions are structured — including restrictions on corporate practice of medicine and the need to ensure continuity of professional licensure and payer participation through and after the closing.

The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC represents buyers and sellers in healthcare practice acquisition and sale transactions throughout South Florida. We advise on deal structure — asset purchase versus equity purchase — conduct and coordinate legal due diligence covering the practice's regulatory compliance, contracts, payer agreements, and employment obligations, and draft and negotiate purchase and sale agreements that protect our clients' interests through closing and beyond. We also advise on the post-closing transition — including patient notification requirements, professional license transfers, and the steps necessary to maintain uninterrupted insurance participation — so that the transaction produces the result our clients intended.

Non-compete agreements are among the most commonly disputed provisions in healthcare employment contracts. For healthcare professionals, a non-compete clause that is overbroad in its geographic scope, duration, or restricted activities can prevent a provider from practicing in the community they have served for years — separating them from their patients and effectively ending the professional relationships they have built over the course of their career. Florida Statute Section 542.335 governs the enforceability of non-compete agreements and requires that any restriction be supported by a legitimate business interest and be reasonable in scope, duration, and geographic reach.

The Law Offices of Richard Corey, PLLC represents healthcare professionals in both the negotiation of non-compete provisions before they are signed and the litigation of non-compete disputes after an employment relationship ends. For providers facing enforcement of an overbroad or unreasonable non-compete, we challenge the agreement's enforceability, seek modification of unreasonable restrictions, and defend against injunctive relief sought by former employers. For healthcare employers seeking to enforce non-compete agreements against departing providers, we pursue enforcement through the courts while managing the professional and reputational dimensions of the dispute. Non-compete litigation in the healthcare context moves quickly — injunctions can be sought on an emergency basis — and early legal counsel is essential to protecting your position.