Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. (Munsch Hardt) is pleased to announce the hiring of three prominent Houston Shareholders – Eddy L. De Los Santos, Stuart F. Miller and Daniel Z. Sternthal, and Associate Bradley A. Cook, all from the law firm of Baker Donelson. This team of well-respected attorneys helps Munsch Hardt significantly broaden the capabilities of its health care practice, as well as further strengthens the Firm’s commercial litigation experience.
“The addition of these skilled attorneys marks a major accomplishment for Munsch Hardt,” said Phil C. Appenzeller, Jr., CEO of Munsch Hardt. “Daniel, Stuart, and Brad allow our Firm to expand the scope of our services through their strong and widely recognized health care practice. While we’ve had attorneys capable of representing entities that operate in the health care industry, these three attorneys bring our capabilities to a new level. Likewise, Eddy’s health care and complex commercial litigation practice strengthens our growing team of litigation attorneys resident in our Houston office. We are very pleased to welcome them into the Munsch Hardt family, and we look forward to sharing news of their successes for years to come.”
About The Team:
- Eddy De Los Santos, who was previously a member of Baker Donelson’s 24 Hour Motor Carrier Emergency Response Team and its Complex Torts and Transportation practice groups, practices a wide variety of commercial litigation, including health care, construction, toxic tort, product liability, personal injury, transportation, maritime, real estate, commercial collections, subrogation and general business law in both federal and state courts. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the South Texas College of Law, and has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M University.
- Chambers USA-Texas (2019-2020) ranked Stuart F. Miller helps health care providers and other health care entities manage their legal and business needs in an efficient and compliant manner. Miller advises clients regularly on compliance issues such as the Stark Law, the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other regulatory matters. He represents a wide range of health care entities including hospitals, surgery centers, labs, pharmacies, physician practices from a solo practice to private equity backed group practices, management companies, device companies, and those providing telehealth and telemedicine services. Miller spends a considerable amount of his practice representing health care businesses in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures of their business. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University and a Juris Doctorate from The University of Texas School of Law. Miller was an adjunct professor at University of Houston for ten years, teaching a graduate level class on the Legal Aspects of Healthcare.
- Chambers USA-Texas (2020) ranked and Board Certified in Health Law, Daniel Sternthal is a recognized authority in advising on regulatory, business, and policy issues related to health care. Sternthal serves as strategic counsel to a diverse range of health care entities (both for profit and not-for-profit), as they navigate operational, regulatory, administrative, and transactional challenges and opportunities. For the last 20 years, Sternthal has focused his practice on the health care industry, representing providers across the continuum of care including individual and group medical practices, hospitals, long-term care facilities and an array of ancillary service providers on issues relating to regulatory, operational and corporate matters. Sternthal is an active member of the national, state, and local health care bar, currently serving as Chair of the American Health Law Association’s Post-Acute & Long Term Service Practice Group and a member of the Health Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. Previously, Sternthal served as a member of the LeadingAge Legal Committee and as an officer of the Houston Bar Association’s Health Law Section. Sternthal earned his Juris Doctorate from The University of Texas School of Law. He holds a master’s degree from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University.
- Bradley Cook is an experienced health care associate who focuses on key regulatory issues, including fraud and abuse, compliance, reimbursement, Medicare/Medicaid enrollment, overpayment audits and appeals, as well as business transactions. Cook also counsels clients with complex business models on the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, False Claims Act, Medicare and Medicaid regulations and HIPAA. He received his Master of Laws in Health Law from the University of Houston Law Center and his Juris Doctorate from The University of Mississippi School of Law. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from The University of West Alabama.
“For the past 20 years our health care practice has been dedicated to helping providers (and others who work in the healthcare field) navigate the regulatory landscape to pursue opportunities and manage risk. We are focused on working with entities and individuals who are engaged in introducing innovation into the health care ecosystem,” stated Sternthal. “Munsch Hardt is a lean and agile Firm whose structure provides us the flexibility and freedom to continue partnering with these innovators as well as the non-profit operators who put mission before margin. Our clients will now have access to a team of 140 legal specialists in Texas who are willing and able to collaborate and find sensible solutions and opportunities.”
All four attorneys will work out of the Firm’s Houston office, and they also are joined by a legal assistant. Their move to Munsch Hardt reflects continued momentum for the Firm, and in particular its Houston office, which has been growing aggressively through lateral hires as part of a strategic plan launched by Appenzeller. As a result, Munsch Hardt has added nearly 20 Houston-based attorneys in the last two years, bringing the total number of attorneys in its Houston office to approximately 45. Additionally, since the beginning of September 2020, Munsch Hardt successfully recruited Jamil N. Alibhai (Litigation Shareholder – Dallas), W. Garrett Hicks (Litigation Associate – Austin), Pooneh A. Momeni (Litigation Associate – Houston) and Alden N. Paras (Corporate/Real Estate Associate – Houston). Appenzeller has no plans to slow the Firm’s trajectory any time soon.
“Consolidation, Covid, changes in reimbursement models, technology and the rising costs of health care are forcing our clients to explore new ways to approach their business,” said Miller. “Our team looks forward to working with our partners at Munsch Hardt to assist clients in addressing all of their business and regulatory challenges.”
