Kate L. Bechen

Corporate

• Advised emerging businesses on entity formation, articles and bylaws, shareholder or investor agreements, operating agreements, joint ventures, governance issues and financing transactions.
• Participated in numerous purchase and sale transactions, including acquisitions of portfolio companies for private equity firms and mergers of high-growth companies.
• Managed regular Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting obligations of publicly traded companies and advised on SEC compliance issues. Assisted privately held clients in raising capital with private offerings of securities pursuant to various exemptions from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 and state securities laws.
• Advised clients on data privacy and security, data breaches and eCommerce compliance.
• Managed several large-scale commercial contract review projects in which attorney teams leverage state-of-the-art software to draft and implement template agreements and a client-specific contract review platform and process.

Crisis Management

• As key member of the firm's CARES Act resource team, advised clients on accessing COVID-19-driven financial assistance, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Main Street Lending Program.

Healthcare

• Advised health systems, hospitals, academic medical centers, group practices, surgery centers, imaging centers, fitness and wellness businesses and healthcare technology companies on business structure and governance, contract negotiation and drafting, medical staff and clinical care issues, HIPAA and consumer privacy concerns, licensure and scope of practice, clinical trials and institutional review board (IRB) compliance, and regulatory compliance matters (including Medicare, Medicaid, Stark and Anti-Kickback).
• Represented health systems in the acquisition and divestiture of hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and imaging centers.
• Advised on strategic alignment options between physician groups and private equity investors, taking the form of management agreement arrangements, stock sale transactions and asset sale transactions.
• Served as legal counsel to a health system's institutional review board (IRB). Attended IRB meetings; provided legal guidance; reviewed clinical trial agreements and reviewed IRB fee agreements, business associate agreements and nondisclosure agreements.
• Served as legal counsel to academic medical center's joint venture entities, including independent diagnostic testing facility, fertility clinic and ambulatory surgery centers.
• Represented health insurance company in launch of new health insurance plan that was joint venture with health system. Served key role in strategic planning and ultimate corporate structuring of new venture, drafted all corporate and transaction-related documents, and supported internal legal counsel on regulatory approval matters.
• Advised CULedger, a technology startup that brings blockchain solutions to the credit union industry, on corporate organization, operating agreement, private placement memo, and licensing and other technology agreements.