I’m Ready To Engage Your Firm. What’s Next?

Great! Let us know and we’ll do a conflicts check and then send you an engagement letter. Typically we want to know if we are going to represent you as an individual, or your entity (corporation or LLC); we’ll also want to know your website and some basic contact information.

How Do I Know If We’re A Good Fit?

Review our legal services to see some of the areas we like to work in; check our testimonials, client roster, and experience; read some of our blog posts; check out our Linked In community; or just call or email us to explore. Put simply, we represent health and wellness products, technologies, practices and ventures that accelerate health and healing.

Do I Need To Come To Your Office To Sign Papers And Meet You In Person?

We are very comfortable working with clients via phone and email. You can sign, scan and email the engagement letter, and submit the advance by check or online.

The answer depends on the complexity of the project. Each client’s situation is different. We want every client to receive the best possible advice, and so we want to be in a position to devote as much time as is required to do that. Look to our testimonials, client roster, and experience. We work with our clients effectively and efficiently and build long-term relationships based on mutual trust. We bill hourly and do not offer project or flat fees. Lawyering is an art, not a science – we’re intuitive as well as skilled lawyers.

Does Your Work Require An Advance?

Yes, like most law firms, we require an advance against fees and costs. Our typical advance ranges from $3,500 – $10,000. We offer our expertise and savvy and work hand-in-hand with you toward your goals. Occasionally, we will offer you a one-hour consult as a way to jump-start our work together, and give you an overview of critical issues, with guidance on the critical business cross-roads you’re facing. We do not take equity or deferred compensation.

Can You Give Me A Quote?

Our Firm doesn’t quite “quotes” or answer “how much does it cost.” Through long experience, we’ve found that the answer is pretty much meaningless. Some lawyers and law firms give quotes, but if you read the accompanying disclaimer, you’ll see that the disclaimer basically says that you can’t depend on the quote for anything. In our long experience, “how much it costs” depends on a lot of variables, including: What the client is asking for What the client really needs What the client doesn’t know they don’t know What we discover as we dive into the legal research and analysis How complicated the problem really turns out to be How much client will want to do on their own Whether we can find some elegantly simple solutions to sub-parts of the puzzle What decisions we make together, and separately, as we explore the puzzle and put solutions and strategies together In many cases, we might think a project is very complex but then as dig in, we can make executive decisions and recommendations that save the client dozens of hours of lawyer time and tens of thousands of dollars. This happens a lot with our clients. In other cases, the client might think the problem is simple but as we start to review it, the puzzle is much larger; sometimes the client throws in extra facts and complications at the last minute, and that will increase the expense and work; sometimes we’ll give the client “homework” so they can DIY a piece, taking it outside the need for lawyer time. One thing we do is get our clients frequently on the phone. We find that the Legal Strategy Session often cuts through the fog. Where we need to do a chunk of written legal work, we’ll do so and let you know that’s what we think is needed. Where we can be more efficient with a call, we’ll tell you that as well. Many clients come us after having wasted tens of thousands of dollars with other lawyers. Read our testimonials. We’re here to provide a lot more value than the retainer—our business model and Firm policy is to provide at least 3-5 times the value back to you. That’s our model and we’re sticking to it. We’re not trying to sell you on a “cheap retainer” or promise of discounts. We’re here to solve a big hairy problem and get you where you need to go, as efficiently and productively as we can.

I Just Want To Talk To An Attorney To See Whether My Project Is Feasible.

Typically, assessing feasibility involves legal and strategic advice, which we provide in the 45-minute consult, in a way that is appropriate to the time we have together there.

What Will I Get In The 45-minute Consult? How Do I Know If I’ll Get My Question Answered?

The only way to know is to jump into the process. If you want to know more about us and how we work, browse our testimonials, look at our client rolodex, or review our experience on our website.

How Long Does It Take You To Do The Work?

Work with us and find out how efficient and engaged we are with your business. We like to work with clients for life. It is a deep and trusting relationship.

Who is the Cohen in Cohen Healthcare Law Group?

Michael’s bio is available online. He has written books on healthcare law and policy, taught healthcarelaw as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, garnered NIH and other medical research grants, and published over 100 articles in legal and medical journals. Michael speaks all over the world on healthcare topics.

Anti-aging And Functional Medicine Services

Our health care legal team counsels functional and anti-aging doctors, whether their practice falls with Medicare and commercial insurance, is only a cash-based practice, or is a hybrid practice that combines reimbursement and cash only models.

Anti-aging Legal & Compliance
Guidance

Whether using the term anti-aging medicine, aesthetic medicine, functional medicine, integrative medicine, longevity medicine, or anything other than “cookbook conventional care,” physicians, chiropractors, other providers, and clinical practices can buttress their legal fortress with solid legal and regulatory advice.

Anti-Aging and Functional Medicine Law

As with other emerging sectors of the multi-trillion dollar, health and wellness industry, the law governing anti-aging, longevity, and functional medicine practices continues to evolve as the emerging healthcare trend is away from cookbook, conventional medicine and toward personalized medicine with a systems-based approach.

Patients want their medical doctors to help them stay youthful, fit, radiant, and beautiful. Today’s patient is not interested in a pharmaceutical “magic bullet,” but rather understands health in its totality, as the synergistic result of multi-factorial inputs, including diet, nutrition, lifestyle, environment, mind-body-spirit health, attitude, habits, exercise, relationships, and everything else that impacts physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.

As healthcare lawyers, we understand the multidimensional journey to health and the passion our healthcare clients have for different approaches to health and wellness, including:

Aesthetic medicine
Ayurvedic medicine
Anti-aging medicine
Bio-identical hormones
Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) Therapies
Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals
Dietetics and Nutrition
Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicine
Energy medicine
Functional medicine
Genetics counseling and genetics or genomics based therapies
Health and wellness lifestyle apps and mobile medical apps
Integrative medicine
Lifespan medicine
Osteopathic medicine
Physical fitness and integration of healthcare into fitness and gym settings
Systems approaches to health

As published in Thomson Reuter’s Legal Executive Institute:

…As an area of focus for attorneys, some $200 billion was spent in 2018 in the anti-aging industry. And that level of spend is expected to grow much, much higher. With the aging of the world’s population, novel anti-aging medicines and treatments, such as 3D printed organs, young blood parabiosis, genome sequencing, senolytic therapeutics, stem cells, and new nutraceuticals to treat age-related diseases, are gaining ground fast. Indeed, the anti-aging field is fast becoming one of the next big disruptions in the healthcare market.

One of the few law firms that has staked out a position in this niche is the California-based Cohen Healthcare Law Group, which specializes in micro-niches like anti-aging practices, biotech and nutraceutical companies, medical device companies, telemedicine ventures, and emerging healthcare technologies. The firm handles matters such as medical practice business formations, mergers and dispute resolution, e-commerce, licensing agreements, and intellectual property protection.

The anti-aging micro-niche presents numerous opportunities for those practitioners who might choose to focus on developing this kind of legal practice. Skilled corporate lawyers can help companies with securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and regulatory compliance, as well as drafting the needed contracts to form strategic alliances, spread financial risk, and other contractual agreements required during a product’s lifecycle….

Our Anti-aging and functional medicine lawyers provide legal advice to physicians and other clinicians involved in innovative and emerging diagnostic and therapeutic methods, including anti-aging medicine and functional medicine.

Feedback from Clients

So grateful for Cohen Healthcare Law Group's Strategy Session. Attorney Mark Paxton saved us from a multitude of perils during just our first consult. Therefore, I am happy to say that Cohen Law will spearhead our 510k application.

- Erik Hancock

We recently engaged with a Drew and his team at Cohen Medical and the experience was exceptional. Their expertise in healthcare law was evident from the start, providing us with clear guidance and comprehensive support.

- René Alvarado

Cohen Law Group was great team to work with to develop my MSO/MSA for my business. Christian was very helpful to answer all my questions and concerns and so patient with me and my schedule. The Lawyer was helpful and efficient.
Thank you.

- Cindy Talley

Cohen Law is very professional. It started with a virtual initial call, then they connected me with an experienced attorney for my needs. They sent me the contracts promptly and follow up with every step of the way.

- Cindy Talley

I had a very informative session with Matthew. He sought out a clear understanding of my situation and we covered a lot in the session. I now have clarity on my next steps and I can move forward. Very helpful staff as well.

– Dani Sonal

Great experience with the Lawyer Chris Esseltine. He was instantly up to speed after reading my paper work and came to the call fully prepared. The entire session took less than 30 minutes, because he already did his research. It was money VERY WELL spent, I could not be happier.

– Daniel Jacobsen

Cohen Healthcare Law Group have been extremely helpful and informative throughout the entire process of initiating my healthcare business. Responses to all my questions are always very thorough as well as prompt and could not ask for a better team. Thank you!

– Ingrid Egocheaga

I was looking for a healthcare law firm knowledgeable about Functional Medicine to start my practice. I heard of Cohen Healthcare Law Group through many integrative medicine websites, and I was not disappointed. I felt heard and welcomed from the start by the team, and I felt the attorney well addressed my legal needs. At the end of my legal session, I felt confident in the path forward with my practice.

– Eri Shimizu

I have nothing but positive comments to say about this group. From the very beginning, Christian has been so helpful and available, even after hours. Molly provided us with all the answers and clarity we needed. I look forward to this business journey with this group. I highly recommend this group if you are seeking medical-legal advice.

– Alyssa Vieira

Used them to review acquisition of a medical practice, and I found this law group to be very easy to work with, efficient; Matthew was my attorney and he exceeded expectations - five stars.

– Gin H

After moving to California from Hong Kong, I was quite confused as to what I could and could not legally do in the state of California. Michael Cohen and his team gave me hope that I could build a successful and legal business. This was a major stress relief. Michael showed genuine interest and concern in my regulatory challenges and he was able to research and come up with solutions for me. I would hire Michael Cohen again and highly recommend him to anyone who would like to start a business in health care.

– Monica Borschel

I would definitely recommend. I needed direction regarding the FDA and how the rules would affect my business. Responsive, accessible, and knowledgeable.

– Richard Freedland

This firm was very helpful in explaining Stark Law to me. I needed to understand this for my medi spa start up.

– Lynne Lowder

Impressive credentials are only overshadowed by their clear awareness of practical strategies to help Physicians navigate modern healthcare and achieve successful outcomes.

– James Riviezzo

Michael H. Cohen is a rare gem. He is genuine, has exceptional legal expertise and in-depth knowledge of the world of integrative medicine and healthcare. I refer clients and candidates to him knowing they are in the best hands.

– Lisa McDonald

We feel that your knowledge of the Healthcare law is unquestionable and we were very pleased with your expertise.

– Aubrey Jenkins

Functional Medicine and Insurance & Medicare Dilemmas

Functional medicine physicians and other clinicians have a particular dilemma, as pioneers in a medical system that is heavily dependent on healthcare insurance. As IFM notes, in Business and Practice Models for the Functional Medicine Clinician:

Providers are successfully applying the Functional Medicine model in many different settings: small, large, cash-based, insurance-based, institutional, and private. Some of the more common models in which Functional Medicine is being practiced are listed below. However, no single, optimal model for practicing Functional Medicine exists, and in reality, clinicians tend to practice a hybrid of two or more models.

Among other legal and regulatory challenges facing the functional medicine doctor is how to deal with insurance, when the functional medicine recommendations to the patient are much more encompassing than those insurance covers.

For the medical doctor who is participating (or even non-participating) in Medicare, their Medicare status poses an immediate legal challenge.

Unless opted out, a clinician within the Medicare system (par or non-par) cannot charge the patient for a Medicare-covered service. Where the functional medicine doctor is effectively practicing primary care, doing a wellness exam, or otherwise offering medical services that Medicare may cover, the functional medicine MD must take care not to double-bill the patient through a membership fee on one hand, and Medicare reimbursement on the other. When par or non-par, the MD can only offer clearly Medicare non-covered services to Medicare beneficiaries.

Often there is a slippery slope between covered and non-covered services and great legal care must be taken not to cross the line. As well, often physicians are not even aware of their Medicare obligations or that, unless opted out, they have such obligations to Medicare. Our healthcare lawyers have counseled physicians in Medicare fraud investigations, where the physician has received a letter from Medicare citing violations and raising the prospect of hefty penalties.

Some physicians have a cash-only practice, effectively eliminating risk that comes from participation in commercial insurance; however, they still have to navigate the patient agreement, legal issues governing subscriptions and automatic renewals, and even issues governing provision of superbills and liability and regulatory risk surrounding the membership-based practice.

Lawyers who Understand Functional Medicine

Our healthcare and FDA lawyers have represented many functional medicine doctors and functional medicine practices. Our founder, attorney Michael H. Cohen, has also served as Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) faculty (IFM – Michael H. Cohen, JD, MBA).

Engaged in a collaboration with Dan Kalish and the Kalish Institute of Functional Medicine to develop online course materials specifically geared to functional medicine physicians. We understand that Functional Medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership.

Some of the legal issues our healthcare legal team assists functional medicine doctors with, include:

Anti-kickback, fee-splitting, Stark and self-referral legal issues
Concierge practice legal issues
Informed consent legal issues
Health coaching and legal issues around MDs serving as “health coaches”
Legal issues related to Telemedicine
Patient agreement (subscription agreement; membership agreement)
Practice Structure and Practice Management
Telemedicine legal issues

Our deep experience in holistic healthcare, complementary and integrative medical therapies, and general well-being outside of (or integrated with) conventional, cookbook medicine and affinity for emerging therapies is a hallmark of our legal practice.

Anti-aging And Functional Medicine Services

What We Do:

Anti-aging Legal & Compliance Guidance

Anti-Aging and Functional Medicine Law

Feedback from Clients

So grateful for Cohen Healthcare Law Group's Strategy Session. Attorney Mark Paxton saved us from a multitude of perils during just our first consult. Therefore, I am happy to say that Cohen Law will spearhead our 510k application.

- Erik Hancock

We recently engaged with a Drew and his team at Cohen Medical and the experience was exceptional. Their expertise in healthcare law was evident from the start, providing us with clear guidance and comprehensive support.

- René Alvarado

Cohen Law Group was great team to work with to develop my MSO/MSA for my business. Christian was very helpful to answer all my questions and concerns and so patient with me and my schedule. The Lawyer was helpful and efficient. Thank you.

- Cindy Talley

Cohen Law is very professional. It started with a virtual initial call, then they connected me with an experienced attorney for my needs. They sent me the contracts promptly and follow up with every step of the way.

- Cindy Talley

– Dani Sonal

– Daniel Jacobsen

– Ingrid Egocheaga

– Eri Shimizu

– Alyssa Vieira

– Gin H

– Monica Borschel

– Richard Freedland

– Lynne Lowder

– James Riviezzo

– Lisa McDonald

– Aubrey Jenkins

Functional Medicine and Insurance & Medicare Dilemmas

Lawyers who Understand Functional Medicine

Anti-aging Legal & Compliance
Guidance

Cohen Law Group was great team to work with to develop my MSO/MSA for my business. Christian was very helpful to answer all my questions and concerns and so patient with me and my schedule. The Lawyer was helpful and efficient.
Thank you.