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Matthew Ludden

Matthew Ludden

Senior Counsel
Overview

With a background in-house with a Dental Support Organization (DSO), Matt optimizes corporate transactions for healthcare clients.

Coming from a family of hospital executives, physicians, nurses, dentists, and other providers, Matt understands and values the patient care mission so central to healthcare practitioners. He also understands that these individuals, while highly knowledgeable in their medical specialties, may not have the requisite training in legal or business matters to accomplish their business goals. Matt knew he could leverage his own interest in the law to support healthcare providers so that they could focus on their patients.

Today, Matt serves as an attorney for hospitals, health systems, DSOs, dental practice groups, physician practice groups, dentists, physicians, and healthtech companies across the country. He regularly assists with various corporate transactions, including asset and equity transactions (buy-side and sell-side), practice acquisitions and sales, mergers, affiliations, joint ventures, reorganizations, member substitutions, and real estate transactions. He also provides external general counsel on corporate governance matters and day-to-day legal concerns, such as labor and employment or third-party contracts.  

While Matt represents clients across the healthcare industry, he has a particular focus on dentistry, thanks to his in-house experience. After his first stint at Husch Blackwell, he was hired by a firm client, a Wisconsin DSO, to serve as general counsel and vice president of legal. Matt oversaw a massive expansion for the company into multiple additional Midwestern states, serving as the lead attorney on practice acquisitions and on the creation of separate DSOs in each state. He also assisted with corporate reorganization, equity restructuring, corporate practice of dentistry, real estate and human resources matters. His up-close view of the company’s business decisions gave Matt deep insight into the corporate side of healthcare organizations.

In 2023, Matt returned to the firm, where clients appreciate his in-house perspective, his rationality with complex situations, and his passion for their industry and its mission. He has built a solid reputation for his in-depth knowledge of healthcare organizations’ corporate needs, as well as for his ability to get transactions over the finish line in a manner that makes business sense for the client.

Industry

Services

Education

  • J.D., Marquette University Law School
    • magna cum laude
  • B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
    • with distinction

Admissions

  • Wisconsin

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • American Bar Association, Health Law Section
  • American College of Healthcare Executives
  • American Health Law Association
  • State Bar of Wisconsin
Experience

Select In-House Counsel Experiences

  • Lead attorney on dental practice acquisitions and sales and corresponding real estate transactions.
  • Oversaw expansion of company into Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois markets, including creation of separate Dental Service Organizations in each state; lead attorney on dental practice acquisitions in those corresponding states.
  • Oversaw company's creation of compliance program and corresponding policies.
  • Assisted with corporate reorganization and equity restructuring matters.
  • Assisted in various employment and human resources matters.
  • Negotiated various third-party contracts with vendors and suppliers.
  • Provided general corporate counsel advice to the company.

Previous Select Private Practice Experiences:

  • Served as lead attorney on various healthcare transactions for hospitals, health systems, dental service organizations, dental practice groups, physician practice groups, individual providers, and healthtech companies across the country, including asset and equity transactions (buy-side and sell-side), mergers, affiliations, joint ventures, reorganizations, member substitutions, and venture investments.
  • Provided corporate counsel on various corporate governance matters for healthcare clients.
  • Drafted, reviewed, and revised various organizational and corporate governance documents for clients.
  • Assisted a Milwaukee-based health and wellness company in a merger with a competing health company.
  • Assisted a Wisconsin healthcare system in sale of agricultural assets.
  • Assisted Wisconsin-based dentists and specialists in sales of multiple dental practices.
  • Counseled a Wisconsin healthcare system in a restructuring project resulting in multiple entity formations and dissolutions.
  • Counseled a Wisconsin-based ambulance company regarding corporate contracts and general governance matters.
  • Guided a large Wisconsin hospital and healthcare organization through multiple corporate governance matters.
  • Navigated the purchase of a pharmacy for a Wisconsin healthcare organization.
  • Represented a large Milwaukee-based healthcare organization in a membership restructuring transaction.
  • Represented a large Wisconsin healthcare organization in a technology investment.
  • Represented a large Wisconsin healthcare organization in a technology affiliation and acquisition transactions and general corporate matters.
  • Represented a merged healthcare entity in an equity sale.
  • Represented a Milwaukee-based physician practice group in resizing through the sale of a department.
  • Represented a Wisconsin critical access hospital in an affiliation with a larger Wisconsin-based healthcare system, resulting in a new hospital facility in excess of $40 million.
  • Represented an organization that acquires dental practices in the purchase of multiple dentist-owned dental practices.
Outside the Office

Matt devotes most of his free time to his friends and family, which includes his wife, who works as a physician assistant, and their two young sons. Matt and his family love to be outdoors, whether boating on the Madison chain of lakes, paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, biking, skiing, golfing, or simply visiting a local park. Matt also enjoys going to music concerts and exploring the local live music scene.

Matt is also an avid Wisconsin sports fan who cheers on the Badgers, Brewers, Packers, and Bucks.

One day, and upon the approval of his family, Matt hopes to hop back on his Triumph Bonneville and ride the back roads of Wisconsin.