Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Dennis Williams is a corporate partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Dennis’ focus is on healthcare entities and related companies. He is regularly engaged in structural, transactional, regulatory and enforcement matters on behalf of private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies.

He advises clients on a broad range of healthcare-related issues including federal and multi-state regulatory matters, structuring, Stark, Anti-Kickback Statutes, False Claims Act, state anti-referral laws, fraud and related regulatory issues. Dennis is experienced in federal and state healthcare regulatory and licensure, enrolment and reimbursement matters.

Dennis is frequently called upon as special regulatory counsel in connection with major acquisitions and mergers of healthcare service platforms undertaken by private equity and strategic acquirers. He engages and provides legal counsel to private equity funds, venture capital, and public companies. He likewise consults for: hospitals, physician group practices, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, pharmacies, home healthcare agencies, revenue cycle management companies, medical device companies, telemedicine, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospice care, payors, home health, ambulatory facilities, physicians, dentists, and other healthcare providers and entities. These engagements have included mergers and acquisitions of healthcare entities, structural, compliance, contractual, corporate, regulatory, employment-related, real estate and risk management legal issues in healthcare. He has developed and implemented HIPAA policies and compliance programs for various sized entities.

He began his professional career in health care as a registered critical care nurse at New York Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medical Center in the Burn Intensive Care Unit.

Additionally, Dennis actively participates in pro bono activities serving as legal counsel to multiple not-for-profit organizations.

Dennis was recognized in the 2020–2022 editions of Chambers USA for his transactional work in Healthcare, where clients commented, "A great lawyer, who always adds a dose of practicality to his advice. I would highly recommend him for any complex healthcare regulatory matters." "Knowledgeable in both the healthcare regulatory and M&A space and provides a balanced approach to business transactions." "He has a very detailed command of the subject matter and is extremely pragmatic as relates to healthcare regulatory risk."