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James B. Platt
Shareholder
Email: jplatt@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7047
Assistant: Eileen Walters, 612.492.7534
PRIMARY SERVICES
“I enjoy being a trusted business and legal advisor to my clients; I am approachable, creative, practical and results-oriented.”
Overview
Jim is an experienced lawyer who advises hospitals, clinics, health systems, businesses, doctors, dentists and other health care professionals on a wide range of legal issues key to their success, including mergers and acquisitions, employment, health care, compliance, employee benefits, tax, and strategic planning.
Jim specializes in the representation of businesses and professionals in the health care industry, including hospitals, clinics, health systems, ambulatory surgical centers, doctors and other health care professionals. Jim regularly advises clients regarding Medicare fraud and abuse, Stark anti-referral regulations, antitrust, tax, and employment law. He has extensive experience regarding ACO contracts and managed care, and in structuring joint ventures and other forms of affiliations, including mergers, asset deals, employment and professional service agreements.
An important part of Jim’s health care practice is his representation of dental groups and dental professionals, including general practice dentists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, periodontists, orthodontists, and endodontists. He has extensive experience representing buyers and sellers in practice sales, buy-ins and buy-outs of practice owners, and on the laws that impact dental practices.
One of Jim’s particular areas of expertise is in employee benefits and compensation planning. He frequently advises businesses regarding their 401(k) and other retirement plans; health saving accounts; flexible benefit plans; and health, life and disability insurance. He also represents executives and businesses regarding employment agreements, buy-sell agreements, deferred compensation, phantom stock and severance plans.
Experience
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Health
- Represented a large health system in a merger with another health system
- Advised a physician specialty group on a merger with another specialty group
- Represented a rural hospital system in structuring a professional service agreement with a medical group
- Advised a physician group on best ways to handle buy-ins and buy-outs, physician employment agreements, and covenants not to compete
- Advised a health care client on developing an accountable care organization and contracting strategies
Compensation and Employee Benefit Experience
- Represented senior management in negotiating new employment, benefit and severance packages in connection with the sale of the company
- Designed and drafted 401(k) plan for large service business
- Advised professional group on best benefit plan design to meet their needs and prepared all necessary plan documents
- Obtained IRS ruling allowing employer in an integrated health system to keep its own retirement plan
- Developed a nonqualified retirement plan allowing employees to defer amounts pre-tax toward their retirement
- Developed employment agreement with severance and special incentive bonus arrangement to recruit and retain key executive
- Advised health care provider on best ways to handle compensation, employment agreements, noncompetes, pension and employee benefits
Dental
- Advised dentist purchasing a practice on the best way to do so for tax and legal reasons; negotiated and drafted purchase documents
- Worked on structuring a buy-out of a senior partner and negotiated and prepared the buy-out documents
- Represented a health care provider in a dispute over billing practices
- Advised a practice on the enforceability of covenants not to compete and developed a new strategy for protecting the practice
Articles & Presentations
New Guidance for Health FSAs and HRAs – Review Your Plans Now
November 14, 2013
By Compensation Planning & Employee Benefits Group
Recent guidance issued by the IRS and DOL may affect the design and structure of some of your benefits arrangements. The new guidance relates to the application of certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions to health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and other medical reimbursement plans.
Read MorePUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
- “Professional Services Agreements: Best Practices and Implementation,” Fredrikson & Byron Health Law Webinar Series, May 13, 2015
- “Grab Bag: Electronic Health Records and What Should Keep You Up at Night,” Fredrikson & Byron Health Law Webinar Series, February 11, 2015
- “Physician Compensation: An Update on Trends & Review of Reasonable Compensation Standards,” Fredrikson & Byron Health Law Webinar Series, May 14, 2014
Honors & Education
EDUCATION
- University of Iowa, College of Law, J.D., 1982, with high distinction
- Iowa State University, B.A., 1979, with high distinction
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Minnesota, 1982
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1982
Professional Activities
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Associate Member, Minnesota Hospital Association
- Associate Member, Minnesota Medical Group Management Association
- Member, American Health Lawyers Association
- Member, Council of Attorneys, American Medical Group Association
- Member, Health Law, Employee Benefits and Tax Sections of Minnesota State Bar Association
- Past Adjunct Professor of Economics and Business, Macalester College
- Past Board Member, Memorial Blood Centers, Angel Foundation, and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Minn-Dakota Chapter
- Past Chair, Health Law Section, Governing Council, Minnesota State Bar Association