James A. Robertson
Partner
Office: Morristown, NJ
973-348-5307
973-425-0161
jrobertson@mdmc-law.com
JAMES A. ROBERTSON is a Partner and the Practice Group Administrator of the firm’s
nationally recognized Health Care Practice.
Jim began his career as Law Secretary to the Honorable Thomas S. O'Brien of the Superior
Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, 1990-1991, and afterward, as an associate at the
firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where he concentrated his
practice in complex commercial and corporate litigation. He was the Managing Partner of
Kalison, McBride, Jackson & Robertson, P.C., one of New Jersey’s premiere health care
boutique law firms, from 2000-2011, when his firm merged its practice with McElroy,
Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP.
Jim represents a broad array of health care providers, including large for-profit and
not-for-profit health care and hospital systems, academic medical centers, nursing homes,
home health agencies, medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, integrated
delivery networks, physicians and physician practice groups.
Drawing on his vast knowledge in a range of legal subjects, Jim counsels his clients on a
myriad of health care regulatory, corporate and litigations matters, including:
Corporate representation in connection with health care transactions, including mergers,
acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures;
Regulatory counseling on Fraud and Abuse, Stark Law, as well as state certificate of need,
CHAPA and other regulatory compliance issues in connection with health care
transactions and other physician-integration arrangements;
Creating integrated delivery systems and accountable care organizations (ACOs), as well
as structuring and negotiating joint ventures and agreements with a variety of third parties,
including other health care providers, administrative service providers and other vendors,
to create integrated delivery systems;
Implementation of federal health care reform and requirements under the Affordable Care
Act;
Seeking Advisory Opinions from federal regulatory agencies;
HIPAA compliance;
Medicare, Medicaid and disproportionate share hospital (DSH) reimbursement matters
before State administrative agencies and the federal Provider Reimbursement Review
Board;
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Board;
Counseling on compliance activities, including internal investigations of potential
noncompliance, responding to government inquiries, investigations, subpoenas and search
warrants, and providing advice in connection with voluntary disclosures and negotiating
corporate integrity agreements (CIAs);
EMTALA compliance;
Structuring and negotiating appropriate compensation arrangements with physicians in
connection with employment, medical directorships, recruitment initiatives, department
management, and office and equipment leases;
Structuring and negotiating physician practice acquisitions and divestitures;
Establishing and implementing corporate compliance programs for hospital and ancillary
providers within the health system;
Addressing medical staff matters, including fair hearing requirements and designing
state-of-the-art medical staff bylaws;
Negotiating managed care agreements and risk-sharing arrangements with payors;
Providing guidance in connection with strategic initiatives on system affiliations;
Establishing outpatient health care offices, diagnostic imaging facilities and ambulatory
surgical centers;
Overseeing the establishment and purchase/sale of physician practices, hospitals and
nursing homes;
Representation of health care clients in managed care contract negotiations and payor
litigation.
Jim Robertson is admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania (1990) and to
practice before the United District Court for the District of New Jersey (1990), the United
States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1997) and the United States Supreme Court
(2001). He is a member of numerous professional associations. He is a member of the
Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group Section of the American Health Lawyers
Association (AHLA), and is certified by the AHLA as an Alternative Dispute Resolver; he
is a member of the Health and Hospital Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar
Association; he also serves on the Publications Committee of the New Jersey Chapter of the
Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Education
Villanova University School of Law (J.D. 1990)
Rutgers University, Cook College (B.S. 1987)
Admissions
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
State of New Jersey
Supreme Court of The United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
U.S. District Court, District of NJ
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Memberships & Associations
Legal
American Health Lawyers Association
Best Lawyers in America
Healthcare Financial/Management Association
Super Lawyers
Publications
"What is So Essential About Health Benefits?", Garden State Focus, Spring 2013, Vol. 59,
No. 4;, 7.1.2013
“Affordable Insurance Exchanges: Coming to a State Near You,” Garden State Focus, Early
Spring 2013, Vol. 59, No. 3;, 4.1.2013
"'Hope Springs Eternal' Will CMS Do A Reality Check Before Finalizing Its New Proposed
Rule on Reporting and Returning Overpayments?", Garden State Focus,
November/December 2012, Vol. 59, No. 2;, 12.1.2012
"It's Not a Mandate, It's a Tax", Garden State Focus, September 2012, Vol. 59, No. 1;,
9.1.2012
“'Did Congress Tip the Scale of Power Too Far?' – The United States Supreme Court Will
Soon Determine the Constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act",
Garden State Focus, November/December 2011, Vol. 58, No. 3;, 11.1.2011
"Does The New Jersey False Claims Act Live Up To Higher Federal Standards? Not Yet",
Garden State Focus, September/October 2011, Vol 58, No. 2;, 9.1.2011
“Another Small Victory for Hospitals: Court Rejects CMS' Narrow Application of DSH
Payment,” Garden State Focus, July/August 2010, Vol. 57, No. 1; , 7.1.2010
“The Seesaw World of Medicaid Eligibility Days Listings,” by J. Robertson, Garden State
Focus, Jan./Feb. 2010, Vol. 56, No. 4;, 1.1.2010
“Overview of the New Medicaid Rate DRG System,” by J. Robertson, B. Liss and J.
Walzman, Garden State Focus, Sept./Oct. 2009, Vol. 56, No. 2;, 9.1.2009
“Update on the Reopening of Cost Reports for the Medicare Disproportionate Share
Hospital Adjustment,” by J. Robertson and M. Sabo, Garden State Focus, Jan./Feb. 2009,
Vol. 55, No. 4;, 1.1.2009
“Hospitals Turn Their Attention to Medicaid’s TEFRA Update Factor Error,” by J.
Robertson and P. Besler, Garden State Focus, March/April 2008, Vol. 54, No. 5;, 3.1.2008
“New Jersey Supreme Court Denies Review of Hospitals’ Challenge to Amendments to
Medicaid Rate Appeal Regulations,” by P. Murphy, J. Robertson and P. Besler, Garden
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State Focus, Summer 2007, Vol. 54, No. 1;, 8.1.2007
“The 2005 Amendments Appeal Regulation,” by P. Murphy, J. Robertson and P. Besler,
Garden State Focus, Sept./Oct. 2006, Vol. 53, No. 2;, 9.1.2006
“Real-Time Solutions for Addressing Unreimbursed Health Care Costs for the Treatment of
Undocumented Aliens,” by J. Robertson, L. Orlando and A. Murphy, Garden State Focus,
Summer 2006, Vol. 53, No. 1;, 8.1.2006
“No Light at the End of the Tunnel: Hospitals Suffer Set Back in Decade-Old Medicaid Rate
Appeal Cases,” by P. Murphy, J. Robertson and P. Besler, Garden State Focus, March/April
2006, Vol. 53, No. 1;, 3.1.2006
“Hospitals Continue Fight for Fair Medicaid Reimbursement,” by P. Murphy, J. Robertson
and P. Besler, Garden State Focus, Nov./Dec. 2005, Vol. 52, No. 3;, 11.1.2005
"Bioterrorism Preparedness: Isolation and Quarantine Issues," by J. Jackson and J.
Robertson published at 179 N.J.L.J. 450 (March 21, 2005); , 3.21.2005
“Legal Issues Involving Bioterrorism Preparedness In New Jersey: Isolation and
Quarantine,” by J. Jackson and J. Robertson, New Jersey Hospital Association’s Newsletter,
March 2005 Edition;, 3.1.2005
“Hospital Prevails in Recent Reimbursement Case Against Horizon,” by J. Robertson,
Garden State Focus, Feb./March 2005, Vol. 53, No. 2;, 3.1.2005
“Legal Issues Involving Bioterrorism Preparedness in New Jersey,” by J. Jackson, A.
McBride, and J. Robertson published in Legal Issues Supplement to New Jersey Medicine,
Vol. 101, No. 9 (September 2004). Also reprinted at Garden State Focus, Aug./Sept. 2004,
Vol. 52 No. 1 and New Jersey Law Journal, December 13, 2004;, 9.1.2004
“Age of New Genetics Tests Familiar Legal Concepts,” by James A. Robertson and Mary
Elizabeth D’Apolito, Health Care Law Magazine Supplement to the New Jersey Law
Journal, 166 N.J.L.J. 1028, 12.17.2001
“Institutional Ethics Committees and the Ethical Challenges of the New Genetics: A
Primer,” by Sr. Ellen Joyce, SC, Ph.D., Rev. Thomas Kopfensteiner, Rev. Joseph Kukura,
John J. Mitchell, Jr., Ph.D., James A. Robertson, Esq. and Susan Schmerler, M.D., J.D.
(Author of Chapter III “The Law and the New Genetics”), Institute for Ethics Catholic
Health Care Partnership of New Jersey, 1.1.2001
“The Duty of Care and Duty of Loyalty Under the New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act,”
New Jersey Lawyer, the Magazine, A Nonprofit Primer, No. 189, February 1998 (Paul R.
Murphy, Co-Editor), 2.1.1998
"The ADA Is Supervising ‘Nonemployers’ Too," Health Care Law Magazine Supplement to
the New Jersey Law Journal, 142 N.J.L.J. 1022, 12.18.1995
Representative Cases
Jim has been either lead or co-counsel in a variety of federal and state court matters that
© 2014 McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP All rights reserved.
Jim has been either lead or co-counsel in a variety of federal and state court matters that
have resulted in the following published and unpublished opinions:
Rahway Hospital v. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, 374 N.J.Super. 101 (App. Div. 2005)
(amicus curiae);
United States ex rel. Quinn v. Omnicare, Inc., 382 F.3d 432 (3d Cir. 2004);
Besler & Co., Inc. v. Bradley, 361 N.J. Super. 168 (App. Div. 2003) (author of the brief);
Robertson v. Bartels, 150 F. Supp. 2d 691 (D.N.J. 2001);
Robertson v. Bartels, 148 F. Supp. 2d 443 (D.N.J. 2001);
Gross v. Cohen DuFour & Associates, 273 N.J. Super. 617 (Law Div. 1993);
Brady v. New Jersey Redistricting Commission, 131 N.J. 594 (1992);
In the Matter of the Application of Allegheny Hospital New Jersey and Zurbrugg Health
Foundation , Docket No. BUR-L-341-98 (Law Div. 2002);
Application of St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center, et al., for a Certificate of Need,
Docket No. A-3062-00T3 (App. Div. 2002);
In the Matter of Orlando Flores, Docket No. M-159 (N.J. Supreme Court 2000);
Torrales v. Estevez, Docket No. A-1240-99T5 (App. Div. 2000);
Torrales v. Estevez, Civil Action No. 00-4946 (AET) (D.N.J. 2001);
Berkeley Heights Taxpayers Association v. Berkeley Heights Township Committee,
Docket No. UNN-L-0265-99 (Law Div. 1999).
Seminar
“Bioethics and the Law,” Villanova University Law School, taught by James J.
McCartney OSA, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy Villanova
University, Spring 2004
“Attorneys General vs. Non-Profit Healthcare Directors: The Corporate Mission And The
Public Good,” sponsored by Seton Hall University School of Law & Public Policy
Program and American Society Of Law, Medicine & Ethics, April 25, 2003
“Roundtable Discussion on Artificial Nutrition and Hydration in PVS and Related
Disorders of Consciousness” sponsored by the Catholic Healthcare Partnership of New
Jersey, December 2, 2004
“TOPOFF3 – Module C, Understanding the Law” sponsored by the New Jersey Hospital
Association, February 15, 2005
“Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Nonprofit Organizations” sponsored by Seton Hall
University School of Law Health Law Forum and the Corporate Law Association, April 6,
2005
Awards & Recognitions
Listed as a New Jersey Super Lawyer ® (2006-2014)
Honored in Best Lawyers in America ® since 2008
Recipient of the 2014 Robert H. Reeves Silver Founders Award by the NJ Chapter of the
Healthcare Financial Management Association
© 2014 McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP All rights reserved.
© 2014 McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP All rights reserved.