Kathrine Nicol has been representing the business interests of small and large healthcare providers and entities for over 20 years. She guides her clients through the maze of regulations involving fraud and abuse, provider reimbursement issues, management service agreements, licensing and accreditation, physician contracting, certification, and health information privacy and security.
Ms. Nicol has extensive experience in physician practice startups, mergers and acquisitions, management service organizations, and alternative payment models including direct primary care/concierge medicine.
She is licensed in both Colorado and Texas. For the past several years, she has served as outside counsel to Nextera Healthcare, the first Direct Primary Care Membership Program in Colorado. Prior to Nextera, Kathrine served as General Counsel/SVP of Nexus Health Systems, a for-profit, physician-owned healthcare group with pediatric and adult specialty hospitals located in both Texas and California.
Ms. Nicol is an entrepreneur with a proven track record for growing and managing a dynamic law practice and started her career as a federal law clerk and associate at a global law firm with offices in 20 countries.
Professional Experience
Ms. Nicol began her legal career as a Federal Law Clerk for the Honorable Marcia A. Crone in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
After her federal clerkship, Kathrine worked as an Associate at Locke Lord, a global law firm with over 20 offices around the world, preparing cases for trial in federal and state courts and representing clients in administrative hearings and conferences.
Kathrine then went on to begin her own law practice where she advised and represented physicians, physician practice groups and hospital systems in both corporate and healthcare regulatory matters and labor/employment law issues. She litigated in federal and state courts and administrative proceedings before numerous federal and state governmental agencies.
Ms. Nicol next served as the Senior Vice President/General Counsel of Nexus Health Systems, Inc. – a multi-million dollar, for-profit, physician-owned company, comprised of four separate facilities located in Texas and California. In this role, she performed an array of functions including managing all general corporate legal matters, outsourced malpractice litigation, and mediation activities. She developed and implemented compliance plans, provided direction and insight into proposed acquisitions, and a full complement of employment and personnel matters including policies, hiring, training, termination, and legal oversight.
Following this, Kathrine was honored with a role as a Ph.D. Candidate/Teaching Fellow at the University of Adelaide Law School in South Australia. She instructed second and third-year law students along with performing Ph.D. research focused on End-of-Life Decision-Making.
After a successful academic career, and before founding Nicol Health Law, Kathrine returned to practice in Boulder Colorado as a contract attorney advising and representing healthcare provider organizations and healthcare executives in health law, regulatory, compliance, HIPAA, and employment law matters.
Education
Kathrine graduated from Ohio University-Athens, Ohio Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. She received her Juris Doctor from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law. She achieved Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Adelaide Law School in South Australia.
Speaking & Publications
Ms. Nicol is a thought leader and professional public speaker on launching and growing Direct Primary Care practices and Management Service Organizations, complemented by legal and regulatory expertise.
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Kat is the Author of “At Work and the Law,” a weekly column that was published every Sunday in the Houston Chronicle, and a Fox News Contributor – Legal Chat with Kat.