Our Team

Brian Colao leads the Dykema Healthcare Industry Group and Healthcare Platforms, bringing over 25 years of experience advising dental, medical/aesthetic, and veterinary organizations on MSO/DSO/VSO structures, transactions, and multi-state regulatory strategy.

He regularly counsels boards and sponsors on growth, governance, and risk management for multi-site platforms. Brian has guided hundreds of healthcare platform transactions, from initial formation through multi-state expansion and eventual exit, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences on DSO legal and regulatory issues.

Craig Woods leads the Healthcare M&A group and focuses on healthcare transactions, including platform formations, add-ons, recapitalizations, and joint ventures. He guides clients through diligence, purchase agreement terms, rollover equity and earnouts, and post-close integration for DSO, MSO, and VSO platforms.

Craig has extensive experience representing private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in complex healthcare transactions, helping clients navigate the unique regulatory and operational challenges of the healthcare industry.

Virgil Ochoa leads Dykema's Veterinary Service Organization (VSO) practice, advising veterinary professionals and platforms on mergers, acquisitions, and corporate transactions. He guides veterinary practice owners and investors through the complexities of growing, acquiring, or selling a VSO.

Virgil's practice focuses on helping veterinary professionals understand their options and navigate transactions that align with their professional and personal goals, whether building a multi-site veterinary platform or joining a larger organization.

Eric White advises platforms and lenders on credit facilities, intercreditor arrangements, and growth capital. He focuses on corporate finance matters, including lending transactions and healthcare-related deals.

Eric aligns financing structures with regulatory and operational realities for multi-state healthcare groups and supports buy-side and sell-side transactions, helping clients secure the capital they need to grow and operate effectively.

Dean Gould offers comprehensive corporate and M&A guidance to healthcare industry clients and Dental Service Organizations (DSOs). He advises on a wide range of corporate matters, including entity formation, governance, and strategic transactions.

Dean helps healthcare platforms navigate complex deal structures and corporate governance issues, providing practical counsel that supports both growth objectives and regulatory compliance.

Evan Atkinson advises healthcare organizations on corporate matters and M&A transactions from the firm's Austin office. He focuses on healthcare M&A and operational structures that support long-term platform growth.

Evan helps healthcare clients navigate complex transactions and corporate governance matters, with particular experience in the Texas healthcare market and multi-state platform operations.

Zack Hoard helps healthcare platforms navigate regulatory issues, including DSO formation, corporate practice rules, compliance programs, and multi-state regulatory frameworks. He advises on the complex web of state and federal regulations that govern healthcare platform operations.

Zack provides practical guidance on structuring compliant MSO/DSO/VSO arrangements, fee-splitting considerations, and supervision requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

Eric Klein is the leader of Dykema's Health Care Practice Group, advising healthcare clients on regulatory compliance, risk management, and operational policies across multi-state platforms.

Eric brings extensive experience in healthcare regulatory matters, helping organizations navigate compliance challenges and develop practical frameworks for managing regulatory risk while supporting business growth.

Jerry Aben supports healthcare organizations with HIPAA and privacy compliance, investigations response, and practical operational guardrails. He focuses on healthcare transactions and regulatory compliance matters.

Jerry helps clients develop and maintain effective compliance programs, respond to regulatory inquiries, and structure transactions that address the full range of healthcare regulatory considerations.

Jena Taft is a DSO and healthcare attorney who counsels clients on compliance, licensing, and policies that help platforms scale while managing regulatory risk. She advises on the full range of regulatory issues facing healthcare platforms.

Jena helps healthcare organizations develop practical compliance frameworks and navigate the regulatory complexities of multi-state operations, ensuring that growth strategies align with applicable legal requirements.

Leigha Simonton brings two decades of experience from the U.S. Department of Justice to her current legal practice. She previously served as the presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, overseeing one of the nation's largest federal districts.

Her expertise spans government investigations, corporate compliance, white-collar crime, and complex litigation. Before leading the U.S. Attorney's Office, she managed the entire Appellate Division, successfully arguing over 20 federal circuit cases and handling nearly 400 appeals as sole counsel.

Scott Hogan brings nearly two decades of litigation and investigation experience from the U.S. Department of Justice. He advises clients on government investigations, False Claims Act matters, white-collar defense, and regulatory compliance—particularly for healthcare providers.

Most recently serving as First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Hogan managed day-to-day operations, supervised Criminal, Civil, and Appellate divisions, and advised on all legal matters affecting the district. Previously, as Civil Chief, he oversaw complex False Claims Act, Controlled Substances Act, and federal statute litigation.

Tiffany Eggers brings more than 25 years of trial and supervisory experience in state and federal courts. She has tried nearly 140 jury trials, including 49 in federal court, and most recently led the U.S. Attorney's Office's Cyber and National Security Section.

As a 20-year DOJ veteran, she previously served as Criminal Chief for the Northern District of Texas, overseeing all criminal prosecutions and supervising more than 65 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. Her expertise spans healthcare fraud, securities, tax, cyber breaches, national security threats, public corruption, and money laundering.

Samantha Chaiken-Turner is an associate in Dykema's San Antonio office. She zealously advocates on behalf of clients through each phase of their transactions, bringing practical guidance on employment and benefits matters for healthcare platform operations.

Samantha helps healthcare organizations navigate the legal complexities that arise during growth and integration, supporting platforms with employment-related compliance and transactional needs.

Kathleen Cruz is an employment litigation attorney who advises healthcare employers on employment matters, policies, disputes, and workforce issues that arise during platform growth and integration.

Kathleen helps healthcare organizations navigate the complex employment law landscape, from day-to-day HR matters to high-stakes litigation, ensuring that workforce practices support business objectives while minimizing legal risk.

Amy Christen counsels organizations on employee benefits, executive compensation, ERISA matters, and health plans, helping platforms align programs with growth and compliance needs.

Amy advises healthcare organizations on the full range of benefits and compensation issues, from plan design and administration to regulatory compliance and transaction-related benefits matters.

Jillie Foerster advises on employee benefits, ERISA, and related compliance considerations for growing healthcare platforms. She helps organizations design and maintain benefits programs that attract talent while meeting regulatory requirements.

Jillie provides practical counsel on benefits matters throughout the platform lifecycle, from initial design through transaction-related integration and ongoing compliance.

Mike Twomey is a Houston-based labor and employment attorney, board certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has tried cases to verdict involving discrimination, retaliation, restrictive covenants, and trade secrets.

Mike advises employers on day-to-day and strategic employment matters, including workforce issues that arise from acquisitions and expansion into new markets. He has substantial experience with departing key employees, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, and trade secret protection.

Eric Fingerhut focuses on IP and trademark matters, serving as managing member of Dykema's Washington, D.C. office. He helps protect brands and intellectual property, supporting healthcare platforms with trademarks, enforcement, and risk mitigation across markets.

Eric advises healthcare organizations on developing and protecting their brand assets, from trademark registration and portfolio management to enforcement and dispute resolution.

Gary Segal leads the lending practice and advises on lending and finance matters supporting healthcare platform growth, acquisitions, and operational capital needs. He represents both lenders and borrowers in commercial finance transactions.

Gary brings extensive experience in structuring and negotiating credit facilities, helping healthcare platforms secure financing that supports their growth objectives while managing risk appropriately.

Jessica Zeratsky focuses on commercial finance, representing both lenders and borrowers in banking, restructuring, and finance matters for healthcare organizations navigating growth, transactions, and operational changes.

Jessica helps healthcare platforms structure and negotiate financing arrangements that align with their business objectives and regulatory requirements.

Brian Forbes focuses on real estate lending and financing, advising on real estate matters supporting multi-site healthcare platforms, including leases, site selection, and transaction-related real estate diligence.

Brian helps healthcare organizations navigate the real estate aspects of platform growth, from individual site acquisitions to portfolio-wide strategies and financing arrangements.

Richard Lieberman advises on tax planning for business transactions, addressing the tax structuring and planning issues that arise in healthcare transactions and platform growth strategies.

Richard helps healthcare platforms structure transactions and operations in tax-efficient ways, working closely with deal teams to optimize outcomes while ensuring compliance with applicable tax requirements.

Asel Lindsey is Assistant Practice Group Leader of Dykema's Tax practice group, based in San Antonio. She specializes in transactional tax and strategic tax planning, advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, taxation of flow-through entities, corporate restructuring, and estate planning.

Asel works with business owners, private equity firms, family offices, and high-net-worth families on succession planning and tax-efficient transaction structures. She is Board Certified in Tax Law.

Chris Kratovil focuses on commercial litigation and appellate matters, representing clients in litigation and disputes impacting healthcare platforms with practical resolution strategies aligned to business priorities.

Chris brings a business-focused approach to dispute resolution, helping healthcare organizations navigate litigation efficiently while protecting their interests and maintaining focus on operations.

John Sokatch focuses on business litigation and DSO disputes, helping clients manage disputes and litigation risk with business-first guidance and strategic advocacy.

John works closely with healthcare platforms to resolve disputes efficiently, whether through negotiation, mediation, or litigation, always with an eye toward the client's broader business objectives.

Scott Kocienski focuses on tax planning, real estate, and corporate matters, supporting healthcare platform clients with practical guidance on growth and operations.

Scott helps teams execute efficiently as they scale, providing counsel on the tax and structural considerations that arise as healthcare platforms grow and evolve.

Tom Alleman focuses on insurance law and litigation, advising healthcare platform clients on growth, strategy, and operational considerations.

Tom helps leadership teams move confidently through change, providing counsel on insurance matters and risk management as healthcare platforms navigate growth and transactions.

Kimberly Holmes oversees and manages data privacy and cybersecurity insurance programs for client organizations across multiple sectors, including healthcare platforms. With over 20 years of specialty insurance experience, she advises on cyber risk mitigation and insurance strategy.

Kimberly helps healthcare platforms navigate the complex intersection of data privacy, cybersecurity compliance, and insurance coverage, providing practical guidance on risk management and breach response.