After serving as assistant general counsel at one of the nation’s largest public healthcare companies, George “Bill” Morrison is returning to Haynes and Boone, LLP, where he was a former partner, to lead the firm’s growing healthcare practice.
Morrison will serve as a partner in the Dallas office and co-chair of the firm’s Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice Group.
“We know that a lawyer as talented as Bill has many career options available to him,” said Haynes and Boone Managing Partner Tim Powers. “His decision to return home is a testament to the enduring power of our culture and client service ethos and to the strength of our healthcare practice.”
He added: “Bill is as adept in the courtroom as he is in the boardroom, and we could not be happier to welcome him back.”
As assistant general counsel of Tenet Healthcare Corporation for more than four years, Morrison oversaw a group of regulatory and managed care attorneys, paralegals, claims managers, and administrative assistants. In that capacity, he handled civil and criminal investigations, class actions, and other high-level disputes involving the False Claims Act (FCA), securities law, insurance coverage and consumer fraud claims, among other issues. He also routinely advised the company’s board and senior management on such critical issues as directors and officers (D&O) liability, regulatory compliance, data security and preparedness, and insurance coverage. He served as corporate secretary for the Quality and Ethics Committee of the board, as well as corporate secretary for the Joint Audit and Quality and Ethics Committee of the board.
Morrison said he is excited to return to a national healthcare practice that has broad litigation and transactional capabilities and exemplifies the highest level of client service.
“I worked with more than 100 law firms at Tenet, and Haynes and Boone consistently stood out for its willingness to collaborate seamlessly with other firms to provide targeted solutions to our most pressing issues — and to do so using innovative legal approaches and fee structures that provided maximum value,” he said. “While I was at Tenet, Haynes and Boone’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice continued to grow, and I am especially thrilled to now be working with some of the premier transactional and regulatory lawyers in our sector. We truly have an exceptionally deep set of capabilities.”
Previously at Haynes and Boone, Morrison was a member of the white collar criminal defense and internal investigations group, with an emphasis on healthcare fraud and abuse. He investigated and defended criminal fraud and civil FCA cases, led internal investigations, and counseled companies on antitrust, cyber security, and corporate compliance and ethics issues.
“Healthcare is a growing, dynamic industry, with companies facing a complex array of legal and market challenges,” said Haynes and Boone Partner Suzie Trigg, who co-leads the Healthcare and Life Sciences Practices Group. “Bill greatly enhances our ability to advise clients in this vibrant sector on their most significant transactions, cases and regulatory concerns. I look forward to working with Bill and the rest of our healthcare team to grow and evolve our practice in keeping with our clients’ ever-changing needs.”
Haynes and Boone is an international corporate law firm with offices in Texas, New York, California, Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai, providing a full spectrum of legal services in energy, technology, financial services and private equity. With more than 575 lawyers, Haynes and Boone is ranked among the largest U.S.-based firms by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and The Lawyer.
The firm’s Healthcare Practice helps clients navigate the highly-regulated healthcare industry while balancing the clinical and economic interests so vital to the success of healthcare clients. Practice members have diverse backgrounds in transactional, regulatory, tax, finance, operational, clinical, litigation, and enforcement areas to offer clients services tailored to their specific needs.
Several news outlets reported Morrison's return to the firm, including the following:
Law360 (Subscription required)
Texas Lawyer (Subscription required)
The Texas Lawbook (Subscription required)