Practice Areas
Industries
Education
Indiana University Maurer School of Law, J.D., 1992, with honors
Princeton University, A.B., 1989, magna cum laude
Admissions
Indiana
Suzannah uses her years of experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors to assist clients from a variety of industries. As co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Practice Group and a member of the Labor & Employment Practice Group, Suzannah is committed to identifying the best approach to help clients meet their legal needs in the most effective and efficient manner.
Suzannah’s career path is as varied as her practice. After becoming an accomplished trial attorney in the private sector, Suzannah joined the government setting, where she designed and implemented a plan for local government reform, litigated employment discrimination and constitutional claims, negotiated labor contracts, and advised city and county departments on policies and procedures. She then applied her substantive knowledge and analytical skills to the nonprofit health care arena as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of one of the largest health care providers in Indiana, serving more than 50,000 patients. In this role Suzannah led a merger and ensured compliance with all regulatory requirements, drafted policies, negotiated contracts with outside entities, and provided legal advice on personnel, regulatory, and corporate issues. Throughout her career, Suzannah has defended both public and private entities against a variety of claims in state and federal court.
At SmithAmundsen, Suzannah draws on her experience to advise clients from a variety of industries in licensing and regulatory matters, commercial and corporate transactions, contract negotiations, nonprofit corporate governance, personnel matters and zoning matters related to health care facilities. She assists clients with issues related to the federal fraud and abuse statutes, namely the False Claims Act (FCA), anti-kickback statute (AKS) and Stark law. Suzannah also represents clients in litigation related to all of these areas.
When she isn’t in the office you can find Suzannah spending time with her family, exercising or cooking.
Memberships & Involvement
- Commissioner, Indiana Election Commission
- Member, American Health Lawyers Association
- Chair, Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee, Indiana Region
Experience
- As COO and general counsel of a non-profit women’s health care provider, negotiated and led merger with provider in a neighboring state. Oversaw licensing of new facilities as well as ongoing compliance obligations of existing facilities.
- Led reaccreditation efforts, resulting in reaccreditation with a national health care organization.
- As Indianapolis Works Transition Director for the City of Indianapolis, led consolidation of governmental services. Designed and implemented plan for local government reform, including merger of police department and law enforcement division of sheriff’s department, as well as consolidation of township fire departments into city fire department. Negotiated framework of the consolidation with local and state elected officials.
- Successfully defended police department against claim for injunction regarding fourth amendment search and seizure case in federal district court and on appeal to seventh circuit.
- Prevailed in numerous employment discrimination and constitutional actions in state and federal court on behalf of state and local government.
- Defended skilled nursing facility (SNF) against a False Claims Act (FCA) complaint brought by the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and successfully negotiated a resolution of that matter. The MFCU initially sought fines and penalties in excess of $1M and the matter was resolved for less than $100k.
- Assisted clients in the health care industry in evaluating and revamping their contracts to ensure compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Stark Law by bringing the contracts within appropriate safe harbors created by the regulations. Advised clients regarding the requirements and potential exposure under FCA, AKS and Stark, and evaluated the clients’ past practices in light of the federal reporting requirements to determine whether any self-disclosure requirements were triggered.
- Evaluated clients’ billing practices to determine compliance with the AKS and Stark and whether any self-disclosure requirements were triggered.
- Reviewed and drafted numerous contracts on behalf of health care providers to ensure AKS and/or Stark safe harbor requirements were satisfied.
- Successfully represented client to obtain zoning approval for new health care facility.
News & Press Releases
Blog
Contributing Author, SmithAmundsen's Labor & Employment Law Update, a labor and employment advisory blog.
Contributing Author, Illinois Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Dispatch, an HR advisory blog.
Alerts
- December 16, 2020
- November 18, 2020
- November 12, 2020
- July 2, 2020
- July 1, 2020
- March 19, 2020
- March 18, 2020
- March 15, 2020
- February 20, 2019
- January 26, 2018
Publications
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, 2019
- Indiana Council Behavioral Health Newsletter, May 23, 2017
Presentations & Events
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, November 18, 2020
- USLAW Network, Webcast, September 30, 2020 - October 9, 2020
- Indiana Health Care Association Annual Conference, August 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast, May 29, 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast, May 15, 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast; Indianapolis, IN, March 27, 2020
- Presented by SmithAmundsen COVID-19 Task Force, March 18, 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast, March 12, 2020
- SmithAmundsen; Lombard, IL, September 25, 2019
- Friends of Indiana Mental Health Centers, December 6, 2018
- Compliance Hotspots: Audits, Whistleblowers and the False Claims ActIndiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers, Inc. PAC Meeting; Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2017
- Audit Trends: Production of Records Related to Audit RequestsClient Seminar; Indianapolis, IN, 2017
- Public Agency - Open Door/Open RecordsIndiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers, Inc.; Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2017
- To Disclose or Not to Disclose: Mental Health Law Mandatory Reporting and Duty to WarnIndiana Coalition of Court Administered Alcohol and Drug Programs (ICCADS) Annual Meeting and Training Conference; Nashville, IN, October 25, 2017
- To Disclose or Not to Disclose: Mental Health Law Mandatory Reporting and Duty to WarnSycamore Springs, Lafayette, IN, September 27, 2017
- Valle Vista Health System; Greenwood, IN, July 20, 2017