Michael D. Sutton is an associate in the Corporate Practice Group in the firm's Dallas office. He is a member of the Digital Health Team and the lead associate for the Health-e Law podcast.
Healthcare Privacy, Digital Health, & Data Usage
Michael takes on the most cutting edge and disruptive areas of practice, blending healthcare, technology, and legal compliance into his daily workload. In particular, Michael focuses on HIPAA and privacy related regulations and their interplay with technological developments both inside and outside of the healthcare and consumer spaces. Similarly, Michael is well versed in negotiations centered on data usage and derivative ownership rights. He maintains significant experience in guiding clients seeking to market or integrate technological innovations, such as ordering and support platforms, remote patient monitoring tools, electronic medical record systems, artificial intelligence, and other offerings centered on collecting, storing, and transmitting patient data to support care, reimbursement, and related activities.
Michael supports clients as they navigate a complex web of emerging regulations in the digital healthcare space, tackling artificial intelligence, webtracking, information blocking, offshoring, de-identification, and other next-gen workstreams. He has managed investigations, worked to resolve active breach incidents, and advised clients regarding a range of healthcare privacy and technology oriented matters. Michael also supports clients in developing compliant and innovative approaches to navigating HIPAA and other healthcare privacy laws to ensure client objectives are achieved in alignment with all legal and regulatory requirements.
Healthcare Regulatory Compliance & Operations
Michael provides comprehensive healthcare regulatory services in support of a range of healthcare industry participants, such as investors, managed care organizations, health plans, medical groups, hospitals, long-term care facilities and operators, medical device retailers, among others. In particular, Michael has tackled operational and contractual negotiations, licensing and compliance, fraud and abuse considerations, and numerous other healthcare regulatory matters. He also enjoys significant drafting and negotiating experience specific to provider and payor contracts, including arrangements with risk-based, performance-based, and value-based components. Michael also assists with regulatory due diligence in transactions, covering everything from mergers and acquisitions to service relationships.
Transactions & Negotiations
Beyond the operational space, Michael supports a range of transactions, including acquisitions of or investments in tech companies, healthcare providers, and related systems. Michael also guides negotiations related to software and service relationships, particularly within the healthcare space. He also works to identify areas of vulnerability in targets and to establish creative solutions to address them.
Education & Background
Michael earned his J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law, where he graduated first in his class. He served as articles editor for the Arkansas Law Review, was a Charles Thomas Pearson Fellow, and was a member of the Board of Advocates, Military Law Society and Business Law Society. He received a B.A. in History from Ouachita Baptist University.
Before attending law school, Michael served as a military police officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, performing installation security activities, law enforcement, and weapons training. He also supported Operation Key Resolve in South Korea.