Wes Scott, Member of the Firm, was featured in Law.com’s Daily Report, in “Epstein Becker Adds M&A Specialist to Health Care Practice in Nashville,” by Thomas Spigolon. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Scott joined the 20-lawyer office after leading Nelson Mullins’ mergers and acquisitions practice in Nashville for more than two years.
According to the firm, Scott’s practice will focus on both buy- and sell-side, middle-market transactions in companies in the health care services, health care technology, medical device, industrial, manufacturing, logistics and business services areas.
He said he was attracted to Epstein Becker because its “depth” and “expertise” were “unrivaled in my estimation within Nashville’s expertise and knowledge” among law firms in a city dominated by the health care industry.
“As transactions become more complex and my practice continues to expand, I needed a talent base and national platform that would allow me to grow alongside the city,” Scott said.
Scott said some of his clients are moving with him to his new firm.
He said the firm’s comparatively large national health care practice gives him “a catalog of resources I have never had before.”
“I like to think of this as the major leagues of health care (talent),” Scott said.
Chris Dunn, managing member of Epstein Becker’s Nashville office, said, “The market continues to show a substantial appetite for dealmaking” and Scott’s “skills and experience” will benefit its clients.
“We were interested in him both as an individual and as a skilled attorney,” Dunn said. “Wes operates at the highest level, is a great fit for us, and adds to the Nashville talent we have in health care regulatory experience, employment law, finance and construction fields.”
Scott noted the health care industry’s growth in Nashville is attracting major investors. According to the Nashville Health Care Council, the industry is Nashville’s largest employer and generates an estimated $68 billion for the regional economy. It includes more than 500 health care companies — including 16 publicly traded Middle Tennessee-based companies such as HCA — as well as 400 ancillary companies in such areas as technology, accounting and finance.
However, Epstein Becker’s approach to offering the expertise of a nationally-known health care practice at “middle market” rates is somewhat “novel” in the Nashville market, Scott said. Its fee structure puts Epstein Becker in a better competitive position for increasingly cost-conscious clients, he said.
In addition to his transactional practice, Scott serves as outside general counsel services to multiple companies in various industries.
He said his practice will change very little because many of his clients in recent years have been in the health care industry.
However, he said in an interview he has represented clients in numerous other industries, such as in construction, and intends to use his experience to help the firm’s Nashville leaders grow the office’s service offerings beyond its current practice areas dominated by health care and labor & employment.
