Can you recommend a physician contract reviewer/lawyer in California?

[throwawayEOyyDz]

Hello. Throwaway account because my usual account is noticeable. I'm looking for a recommendation to review my already accepted/signed contract. I'd like to leave my group but there is a particular set of termination clauses/penalties in the contract I need help with. The language is not completely clear upon looking at it a second time, and asking my group right now about it would be suspicious.

What is the general going rate, by the way? I've seen prices range from 400 to 2000 for a contract review.

Thank you.

[ACN]

Bump for new post.

 

Next time please DM a mod and we can post your message anonymously instead of creating a second account.

[jfoxcpacfp]

throwawayEOyyDz wrote:

Hello. Throwaway account because my usual account is noticeable. I’m looking for a recommendation to review my already accepted/signed contract. I’d like to leave my group but there is a particular set of termination clauses/penalties in the contract I need help with. The language is not completely clear upon looking at it a second time, and asking my group right now about it would be suspicious.

What is the general going rate, by the way? I’ve seen prices range from 400 to 2000 for a contract review.

Click to expand...

Have you spoken to Jon Appino at Contract Diagnostics? They review contracts in every state. As I understand it, they have packages and the fee depends upon the package (depth of services needed).

[DMFA]

I'm interested in this myself. High probability my wife and I will be in a similar position in California this coming summer.

[Thoraeus]

I used Contract Diagnostics a while back to evaluate a contract when leaving my old position.  I have to say, if you are looking for interpretation of tricky legal language, then I would recommend against Diagnostics in favor of a contract lawyer.  I felt that the level of analysis was quite superficial at CD and not particularly illuminating for somebody who has a basic understanding of physician contracts.  Perhaps their service is more directed toward new physicians/residents reviewing their first contracts.

Good luck with the job change.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Thoraeus wrote:

I used Contract Diagnostics a while back to evaluate a contract when leaving my old position.  I have to say, if you are looking for interpretation of tricky legal language, then I would recommend against Diagnostics in favor of a contract lawyer.  I felt that the level of analysis was quite superficial at CD and not particularly illuminating for somebody who has a basic understanding of physician contracts.  Perhaps their service is more directed toward new physicians/residents reviewing their first contracts.

Good luck with the job change.

Click to expand...

Oops - not the best feedback, nice to know.

DMFA and throwawayEOyyDz, I can put the request out to my NAPFA and FPA network colleagues. Does it matter what part of the state? If so, you can pm me. lmk

[throwawayEOyyDz]

Thank you for the heads up!  

[Craigy]

You need to find a good attorney in your area.  Look for someone who does contract litigation or employment law.  Obviously if someone can recommend an attorney who handles a lot of physician contracts that would be ideal.

I would expect an hourly rate of at least $150, with at least a couple of hours work.  In practice, someone on the lower end of the billable rates will probably take more hours to give you an answer.  Hopefully under $1,000 total.

I would steer clear of any "contract review" people that are not licensed attorneys.  There's plenty of real attorneys out there that can offer you a legitimate legal interpretation of your document.

[WallStreetPhysician]

Thoraeus wrote:

I used Contract Diagnostics a while back to evaluate a contract when leaving my old position.  I have to say, if you are looking for interpretation of tricky legal language, then I would recommend against Diagnostics in favor of a contract lawyer.  I felt that the level of analysis was quite superficial at CD and not particularly illuminating for somebody who has a basic understanding of physician contracts.  Perhaps their service is more directed toward new physicians/residents reviewing their first contracts.

Good luck with the job change.

Click to expand...

Agreed -- if you need a lawyer to parse the contract line by line, Contract Diagnostics are not the right people because they are not lawyers and do not provide legal advice. Their services are best aimed at graduating resident physicians in my opinion.

Full disclosure: Contract Diagnostics is an advertiser on my blog, WCI, PoF, and others.

-WSP

[Craigy]

WallStreetPhysician wrote:

Thoraeus wrote:

I used Contract Diagnostics a while back to evaluate a contract when leaving my old position.  I have to say, if you are looking for interpretation of tricky legal language, then I would recommend against Diagnostics in favor of a contract lawyer.  I felt that the level of analysis was quite superficial at CD and not particularly illuminating for somebody who has a basic understanding of physician contracts.  Perhaps their service is more directed toward new physicians/residents reviewing their first contracts.

Good luck with the job change.

Click to expand…

Agreed — if you need a lawyer to parse the contract line by line, Contract Diagnostics are not the right people because they are not lawyers and do not provide legal advice. Their services are best aimed at graduating resident physicians in my opinion.

Full disclosure: Contract Diagnostics is an advertiser on my blog, WCI, PoF, and others.

-WSP

Click to expand...

Moreover, they legally cannot provide legal advice.

[ddscook]

We're also going to be needing a physician contract lawyer in California in a few months. Would love to get any recommendations!

[jfoxcpacfp]

I have a couple of referrals for contract attys in CA who work with physicians. PM me your email address and I'll send the email to you.

[The White Coat Investor]

I think there are three benefits to getting your contract reviewed:

# 1 Is it a competitive offer?

In this case, you want someone providing you MGMA data and preferably someone who does hundreds of these a year in all specialties all across the country.

# 2 What do this contract mean? What are the various terms? Is this what a typical contract looks like? Should something else be in here?

Again, in this case, you want someone who does a ton of these like Contract Diagnostics.

# 3 What would be the legal issues if I wanted out of this contract? Are there provisions that might not be enforceable in this state?

In this case, it would probably be best to get a health care attorney in your state to review.

So I guess if you're a belt and suspenders kind of person, you would do both. But I doubt most health care attorneys are doing more than a dozen of these a year and don't provide MGMA data like Contract Diagnostics does.

[SFdoc32]

Did you find a good physician contract reviewer in CA?  I'm in need of one as well.

 

[tanmaay]

Hands-down best physician employment lawyer I could have chosen. High attention to detail and got me perks I didn’t think I could get. Highly recommend. Located in California but does work for any states.

https://www.weavillaw.com