J. Kent Culley

J. Kent Culley initially practiced in general law, including litigation, bankruptcy and creditors' rights and spent several years as an appellate lawyer for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Since the late 70’s, however, he has focused his practice in the area of corporate law, primarily in the health care field, representing health care providers, hospitals, closely held corporations and not-for-profit corporations including health care trade associations and foundations. Kent also assists in government relations issues and lobby activities on behalf of clients. Kent is a member of the firm's Health Care and Government Relations Practice Groups. He was included in the Best Lawyers in America® in 2009 as well as being named  a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer® in 2006 and 2007 in the Health Care Law Category.

Kent focuses on corporate planning and structuring in the health care field, including Medicare and HIPAA compliance. Since the late 1980’s, Kent has been responsible for structuring some 20 health care physical therapy rehabilitation networks throughout the United States as well as service arrangements and joint ventures between hospitals and rehabilitation therapy companies. Additionally, Kent has been actively involved in mergers and acquisitions. Typically, these involved rehabilitation companies in the physical therapy field being acquired by other similar private corporations or publicly held health corporations.  Kent has represented both the seller or buyer in separate acquisition transactions and typically the successor company in a merger of practices.

Kent also provides legal services for numerous state physical therapy trade associations of the American Physical Therapy Association, including the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association. Kent has represented the Foundation for Physical Therapy and presently is legal counsel to The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. He also represents numerous private health care corporate practices and health in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia.  He has provided legislative planning activities for some twenty-five state chapters of the American Physical Therapy Association.

In addition to his practice, Kent has lectured and written on diverse health law topics. He has lectured extensively in the field of allied health including government relations, labor law and corporate planning. He has also lectured on considerations for contracting and structuring of practice arrangements and risk management for numerous health care groups and allied health academic programs throughout the United States.

Kent is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association. He received his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College in 1962 and his J. D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1966. He has been admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals as well as all Pennsylvania state appellate courts.

Kent  has an AV rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards awarded by this national directory of lawyers.

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