Epstein Becker Green Expands into Pacific Northwest with Six-Attorney Health Care Team in Portland

Portland, OR (July 19, 2023) – Epstein Becker Green (EBG) is pleased to announce its expansion into Portland, Oregon, with the addition of six accomplished health care and labor and employment attorneys to support the firm’s growth in the Pacific Northwest. The team includes members Eric Neiman, Sharon Peters, and Emma Pelkey and associates William Stinman, Eric Werner, and Rachael Grey.

“EBG is thrilled to establish our presence in Portland and to do so with a prominent group of lawyers with strong ties in the city,” said Mark Lutes, Chair of EBG’s Board of Directors. “Their experience and talent in our focus areas of health care, labor and employment, and litigation matches our profile, and their deep and plentiful connections will allow us to bring federal policy and enforcement insights to their clients in the Pacific Northwest.”

“We’re excited to launch this office with the support of the leaders and experienced attorneys EBG provides and to join a firm that has a five-decade history of industry growth focused in our core practice areas,” said Neiman. “We know that EBG’s super-boutique model has proven time and time again it can successfully break into new and significant markets within health care, workforce management, and litigation.”

Neiman brings more than four decades of experience as a trusted litigation attorney, along with a robust health care regulatory compliance and litigation practice in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. He has particularly extensive experience in behavioral health, provider operations, medical staff and peer review, crisis management, and regulation/enforcement. He has been the first chair in more than 100 jury trials and has extensive experience in bench trials, administrative hearings, and arbitrations. Neiman also provides legislative support to further his clients’ policy interests.

At the intersection of health care and labor and employment, Peters is a health care regulatory practitioner and management-side employment lawyer who is trusted by health systems and providers on both sides of the practice. Particularly, she helps health care clients navigate complex state and regulatory compliance issues that are consistent with their mission and ethical directives while also counseling on a range of challenging patient and workforce issues, such as difficult discharges, workplace violence prevention and response, and consent for treatment.

Besides her health work, Peters has a robust management-side employment practice. She advises and defends employers on a wide range of employment law issues, including disability accommodations, leaves of absence, discrimination and harassment, restrictive covenants, wage and hour, terminations, and federal and state law compliance. She also conducts workplace investigations and helps employers develop and implement successful policies and practices to overcome employment-related challenges.

Pelkey counsels clients on issues related to behavioral health, patient care, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, consent for treatment, workplace violence, risk management, barriers to discharge, and provider operations. She is frequently called upon to advise on state and federal regulatory compliance issues, review and develop policies and procedures, provide training and education, and assist with investigations, surveys, and monitoring visits.

Pelkey has developed a reputation for helping community hospitals and providers advocate on behalf of their patients to receive meaningful treatment in appropriate long-term settings and assisting hospitals in their work to improve access to behavioral health services. In addition to her behavioral health work, Pelkey leverages her extensive litigation experience to advise clients on managing risk and ensuring compliance.

EBG’s expansion into Portland reflects the firm’s growth beyond its East Coast roots and long-term California presence into markets where its commitment to the intersection of health care and labor and employment can flourish, such as the firm’s expansion into Ohio in 2021 and growth in Nashville earlier this year.

About Epstein Becker Green

Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., is a national law firm with a primary focus on health care and life sciences; employment, labor, and workforce management; and litigation and business disputes. Founded in 1973 as an industry-focused firm, Epstein Becker Green has decades of experience serving clients in health care, financial services, retail, hospitality, and technology, among other industries, representing entities from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Operating in locations throughout the United States and supporting domestic and multinational clients, the firm’s attorneys are committed to uncompromising client service and legal excellence.  For more information, visit www.ebglaw.com.