Kenneth W. Lehman

Here’s why you’ll find Ken the right attorney to help you achieve your goals.

Ken Lehman is a shareholder in Bernstein Shur’s Litigation Group and he co-chairs the firm’s Health Care Group. Ken has practiced health care law for more than 35 years. He is a former Maine Assistant Attorney General where he had responsibility for cases before Maine’s professional licensure boards that license physicians and PAs, nurses and nurse practitioners, dentists, psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, chiropractors, and other health care providers.

He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America since 2001 for his work as a health care attorney, and Best Lawyers has also listed him for many years for his work as an administrative and regulatory attorney in Maine.

Ken concentrates his law practice on advising and defending health care providers regarding a wide range of issues that arise in health care practices, including: quality of care; ethics and professional conduct; licensure complaints and grievances; challenging patient care issues; confidentiality and HIPAA compliance; substance use disorder; prescribing controlled substances; medication assisted opioid treatment; mandated reporting and duty to warn; regulatory compliance; and many other day-to-day practice and licensure issues. He regularly counsels and provides defense for individual health care providers, for FQHCs and other clinics, for licensed mental health, substance treatment, social service and other agencies, and for institutions. Ken also represents other non-health care professionals and organizations in licensure cases and regulatory matters before State agencies.

More specifically, Ken’s law practice includes:

• Advice and license defense of physicians and physician assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners, psychologists, social workers, clinical professional counselors, substance abuse counselors, dentists, podiatrists, chiropractors, pharmacies, pharmacists, pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers, veterinarians and all other health care practitioners, as well as other professionals, licensed by Maine’s professional licensure boards
• Initial licensure assistance, and advice and defense of investigations, claims and grievances, concerning mental health agencies, substance treatment agencies, ambulance services, home health agencies, nursing homes, hospitals and other providers licensed by the State of Maine
• Advice and defense of fraud and abuse investigations and complaints regarding health care providers and licensed mental health, substance abuse, home health & hospice agencies
• Advice and counsel regarding addressing and managing substance use disorder issues (i.e., licensure, employment, credentialing) concerning physicians, nurses, dentists and other health care practitioners
• Advice and defense of HIPAA privacy and security investigations and complaints, and counsel regarding compliance with HIPAA and confidentiality practices
• Advise and defense regarding medical and mental health professionals ethics issues
• Advice and representation managing subpoenas and other issues regarding disclosure of PHI and records protected by confidentiality laws, HIPAA privacy and other regulations
• Advice and representation in hearings for individual providers, agencies and other entities in licensure and credentialing reviews
• Advice and representation, and serving as independent hearing officer in hospital medical staff membership, credentials and privileges investigations, and medical staff fair hearings
• Advice regarding health care employment agreements and employment disputes
• Advice for health care providers in “Duty to Warn” and mandated reporting situations
• Advocacy regarding health care issues before the Maine Legislature and in rule-making proceedings before Maine government agencies

Over the years, Ken has taught hundreds of hours of seminars accredited for health professional continuing education concerning a wide range of health care legal issues and mental health ethics.  From 1991-2011, Ken was an adjunct instructor at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he annually taught a 19-hour medical jurisprudence course and other seminars.