Zach has spent more than twenty years in federal and state courts and in arbitration. He has represented clients in diverse industries including entertainment, professional services, financial services, marketing, and manufacturing. As a partner at Nelson Hardiman, Zach leverages his broad knowledge of industries and business models to advise healthcare clients.

Focused on Litigation Solutions Across a Broad Spectrum of Providers and Issues

Zach regularly represents healthcare clients in cases involving breach of contract, fraud, unfair competition, and misuse of trade secrets. His clients have ranged from individual doctors, nurses, and other individual healthcare providers, to ambulatory surgery centers, pharmacies, and drug rehabilitation facilities, to hospitals and Independent Practice Associations (“IPAs”).

Strong Experience with Behavioral Health Providers

Zach has a breadth of knowledge in the behavioral health space. He advises drug rehabilitation facilities on land use, advocating for clients where administrative actions challenge zoning laws, attempting to prevent facilities from operating in their existing location. He litigates out-of-network and in-network reimbursement cases on behalf of addiction treatment facilities and responds to special investigation audits. He has also advised on labor and employment defense matters including those related to racial discrimination, wrongful termination, wage & hour disputes, and retaliation. Clients have come to rely on his insight regarding employee handbooks and labor code issues.

Speaking and Presentations

Zach and John Mills co-moderate the monthly Reimbursement Roundtable series, Nelson Hardiman’s forum for the behavioral health community to discuss industry-wide trends, challenges, and hot topics in billing and reimbursement. In April 2023, Zach was the introductory lunch speaker at the Emerging Themes in Behavioral Health conference, held annually at UCLA’s Luskin Center. He will be a featured speaker at the 2024 Emerging Themes conference, addressing issues in the use of psychedelics in mental health care. In December 2023, he and John Mills presented a webinar for the National Behavioral Health Association of Providers (NBHAP) entitled “Mandatory Reporting: What is It and How Does It Apply to Me?”

Accolades

Zach was named to the Southern California Rising Stars list for seven consecutive years (2008-2014); he has been named to the Super Lawyers list for the past eight years (2017-2024) and Best Lawyers in America for 2023 and 2024.

Life Outside the Firm

Outside the courtroom, Zach has utilized that same litigation tenacity to post a sub 6-hour Half Ironman triathlon race. His idea of fun is cycling along Mulholland Drive or the Pacific Coast Highway in a nifty spandex outfit (and helmet, of course) preparing for his next race. For many years, Zach spent his evenings catching live music all around town, but, now a dad, he is resigned to the living room with his Spotify account and a nice single malt.

Credentials

Harvard Law School, J.D.

Columbia, B.A.

State Bar of California

American Health Lawyers Association

Beverly Hills Bar Association, Health Law Committee
(Executive Committee)

California Society for Healthcare Attorneys
(Education Committee)

California Young Lawyers Association
(Past Board of Directors)

Los Angeles County Bar Association, Healthcare Law Section
(Executive Committee)

ProVisors

Experience

View All