Why DSOs Should Consider Specialized Legal Counsel

Dykema, a law firm offering practical, results-oriented counsel to Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), holds its 4th annual conference in New Orleans June 15 to 16. Litigation attorney Brian Colao sat down with DMD to discuss the differences between general health care attorneys and those who specialize in dentistry. Across the board, the director of Dykema’s Dental Service Organizations Industry Group advises seeking out services that cater to their niche. Watch Colao’s clip or read the transcript below.

Interview Transcript (Modified for Readability)

“Dentistry has a very unique and particular set of regulations. You often hear somebody say, ‘I’ve got a health care lawyer,’ and that often won’t cut it in a dentistry-related case or a dental type project because dental regulations are very unique. It’s a state by state basis, but it’s not uncommon for something to be allowed for a physician, but not a dentist.

[For example], a doctor regulation says 'ABC,' a dentist regulation says 'XYZ,' and they really are not comparable. Just because you’re a general health care lawyer does not mean [your skills] translate to the dental regulatory field. They’re very particular and very unique regulations. What I always tell people is, you certainly don’t need to hire me, but you need to hire an attorney that is specialized in dentistry. Don’t hire just a general health care attorney. There may be a big learning curve, the bill may be higher than you want, and you may not have the subject matter expertise that you’re hoping for, even with a very good health care lawyer that is otherwise very talented. If they don’t specialize in dentistry, you may not get the work done as efficiently as you want it done.”