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Hogan Lovells secures final victory in major Philadelphia healthcare merger
Press releases
| 02
March
2021
Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, 2 March 2021 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells successfully represented Einstein Healthcare Network (Einstein) in a challenge by the Federal Trade Commission to its proposed merger with Thomas Jefferson University. Following the firm’s representation of Einstein in a federal hearing and a favorable ruling from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in December, the FTC has announced it will drop its appeal of the lower court’s decision.
The FTC’s announcement follows a major victory secured by Hogan Lovells in federal court in which Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Gerald J. Pappert denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction. In its ruling, the court stated the government “has not shown ‘that there is a credible threat of harm to competition” from the merger.
Einstein Healthcare Network consists of an academic medical center with 1,000 licensed beds across three general acute care hospitals, a world-renowned inpatient rehabilitation facility, and skilled nursing and ambulatory care facilities in the greater Philadelphia area. Einstein employs 8,500 people from the communities it serves.
“We are pleased that the FTC has decided to drop its appeal of the district court’s decision,” said Hogan Lovells partner Leigh Oliver. “Einstein Healthcare Network has a long history of serving the most vulnerable communities of Philadelphia and it is encouraging to know that they will be able to continue with their mission for many years to come through their partnership with Thomas Jefferson University.”
The Hogan Lovells team included Washington, D.C. partners Leigh Oliver, Justin Bernick, and Bob Leibenluft and Philadelphia-based partners Virginia (Ginny) Gibson and Stephen Loney. They were assisted by associates, Katie Hughes, Daniel Mader, Molly Pallman and John Hamilton (all Washington, D.C.) and associates Alex Bowerman and Garima Malhotra, Kendyl Gilmore and Victoria Joseph (all Philadelphia).