Darren S. Skyles

Partner

Houston, TX

Dallas, TX

Office Phone Number 713.590.9341 Email
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Industries

Health Care Innovation

Practices

Corporate Law

Biography

Darren serves as the Vice Industry Team Lead and is an actively involved member of the FBT Health Care Innovation Team. Practicing out of both the Houston and Dallas offices, Darren has deep knowledge and experience in health care legal matters, including outside general counsel services, mergers & acquisitions, transactional enterprises, regulatory issues, compliance, operational matters, corporate transactions, fraud and abuse, privacy and security, medical staff issues, governmental entity laws, and litigation. As part of his robust practice, Darren also collaborates with clients on Value-Based Care payment models as well as counsels on and assists with specialized corporate transactions in the health care space.

Prior to joining FBT, Darren served as the Vice President of Legal Affairs at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and he practiced in the health care practice group at several major Texas law firms. In private practice, Darren oversaw the legal, compliance, and regulatory affairs of two health care systems which grew, during his representation and oversight, into significantly larger health care systems. Before practicing law, Darren served as a director in the Division of Public Affairs of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Other Info About Darren

Experience

Legal Work Highlights

Negotiated multiple transactions for the purchase or sale of a medical practice (medical, dental, senior living and veterinary space).

Represented large corporations in the acquiring of health care provider practices in multiple states, drafting the documentation, forming the corporate structure and counseling on the development of a Management Services Organization (MSO). Matters included:

Advising and transacting deals for a national chiropractic provider on both MSO and franchise models of organization

Counseling, guiding and transacting for the purchase and acquisition of a large urgent care practice via MSO model

Transacting for and drafting the required documentation for the purchase and acquisition of senior living facilities in multiple states.

Joint Ventures between hospitals and medical practices

Clinically Integrated Network among health care providers

Merger of medical practices (multi-specialty and single-specialty)

Analyzed, audited and provided counsel on large health care systems’ health care compliance programs.

Counseled three large health care systems on health care regulatory matters in the areas of Stark, Anti-Kickback, and HIPAA as well as hospital and physician operational matters.

Represented hospitals and physicians in physician employment and physician recruitment agreements.

Counseled Academic Medical Center on its efforts in moving its clinical research toward commercial realization.

Counseled software start-up company on its business marketing plan and its legal position during its evolution toward the market.

Education

Law School

University of Houston, J.D., 2004

Undergraduate School

University of Houston, B.A., English, 1991, magna cum laude

Bar Memberships

Darren is licensed to practice in the following state(s):

Texas, 2005

Recognition

Local & National Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America®, Health Care Law, 2024

Houston’s Top Lawyers List, Houstonia Magazine, Health Care Law, 2022

Professional Affiliations

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

American Health Law Association

Texas State Bar Association

Houston Bar Association

Committee Member, Greater Houston Partnership Health Care Advisory Committee and Life Science Committee

Houston Christian Legal Society

Presentations

Darren was invited to speak at the following events:

First Annual Healthcare Leadership Quorum, ACHE, NALHE, NAHSE, and GHSHRM discuss the challenges facing the health care industry featuring leadership experts from the greater Houston area and beyond.

Practical Applications of Value-Based Enterprises, InHealth Advisors, June 2023

High Risk Areas in M&A Healthcare Acquisitions, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Houston, July 11, 2023

Implications in Structuring Value-Based Arrangements: A Practical Approach, American Health Law Association (AHLA) – Health Care Transactions Program, April 2023

Rethinking Value–Based Enterprises to Attract and Enhance Physician Engagement, Texas Hospital Association (THA), February 2023

Healthcare Disruptors & Innovators, Greater Houston Society for Healthcare Risk Management, October 2022

The Power of Value-Based Care Payment Models, Cincinnati Bar Association Health Law Section, September 2022

Managing the Unmanageable in a HIPAA Breach Response, Scottsdale Institute, May 2022; College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, June 2022; Kentucky Health Law Institute, September 2022; Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), December 2022 and January 2023

Navigating the Intersection of Industry and the Law: Essential Legal Knowledge for Healthcare Executives, Critical Legal Issues in the Healthcare Industry, National Association of Health Service Executives, June 2021

False Claims and Whistleblowers: Best Practices to Avoid Significant Exposure, Frost Brown Todd Webinar, May 2021

Overview of Legal Affairs Counsel and Services, with Focus on Risk Management, UTMB, May 2019

The Legal and Practical Aspects of Physician Recruitment–A Case Study, American Health Lawyers Association Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute, February 2016