HIPAA: Responding to Law Enforcement and Administrative Requests and Demands Part I
August 1, 2018
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J. Michael Fields
Health Care Attorney
Michael leads the Health Care practice. He counsels physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers on regulatory, compliance, and transactional matters. He represents all types of closely-held businesses and their owners on such issues as the formation of business entities, financing transactions, and the merger, acquisition, and sale of businesses. Additionally, Michael advises banks, automobile and tractor finance companies, shopping center owners, homeowners' associations, and suppliers in the agricultural and construction industries on financing transactions, workouts, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and collections. His bankruptcy practice is focused on the representation of creditors in contested plan confirmation, relief from stay, cash collateral, lease assumption and assignment, fraudulent transfer, and preference litigation.
Michael also provides mediation services in bankruptcy cases. His mediation training includes the acclaimed 40-hour American Bankruptcy Institute/St. John’s University School of Law Bankruptcy Mediation Training Program held in New York.
He has been rated by his peers as "preeminent" in his respective fields of law.
Outer Banks Contractors, Inc. v. Daniels & Daniels Const., Inc. - 433 S.E.2d 759 (N.C. Ct. App. 1993)
First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. v. Cannon - 530 S.E.2d 581 (N.C. Ct. App. 2000)
First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. v. Four Oaks Bank & Trust Co. - 576 S.E.2d 722 (N.C. Ct. App. 2003)
St. Regis of Onslow County, N.C. Owners Ass'n v. Johnson - 663 S.E.2d 908 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008)
The Best Lawyers in America, 2018 - 2020
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Everyone has the will to win. Champions have the will to prepare to win. -- While this statement from Coach John Wooden was made with basketball in mind, I apply it to the way I approach each transaction or case in which I am involved. I will not be out-worked by the other side. I find that preparation often is the difference between a bad result and a good result, or a between good result and a great result!
The best thing about Ward and Smith is its client-centered approach. My colleagues and I strive to develop and maintain relationships with each client. We are accessible and responsive to the client. We keep the client consistently updated regarding the status of each matter, without the client's asking, and even if there is nothing new to report. A client is not left to wonder.
What I admire most about our clients is their loyalty to Ward and Smith. We have some clients with which I have worked for over 25 years. We also have some client contacts who have switched employers and who made it one of their first orders of business to get Ward and Smith on their teams. There are many choices when it comes to legal services, but our clients consistently have been loyal to Ward and Smith, for which we are greatly appreciative!
* Please see the following websites for an explanation of the membership standards for the following recognitions: www.bestlawyers.com; businessnc.com/special-sections/legal-elite/; and www.superlawyers.com/north-carolina.
