Faculty and Administration Profiles

James C. Dechene

About

James C. Dechene has over thirty five years health law experience in both private practice and in-house positions. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and Interim President and CEO of University Health Care in Madison, Wisconsin. Additionally, Mr. Dechene was a partner in Sidley Austin LLP's national health care group for over twenty years. He also has served on a number of Boards of health care providers and third party payors.

Mr. Dechene is nationally known for his work on health care reimbursement, including Medicare, Medicaid and other third-party reimbursement programs and alternative delivery systems. He has represented a number of companies who were the subject of investigations or litigation involving alleged violations of the false claims act, health care fraud and abuse and self-referral laws. He regularly counsels clients on compliance with those laws. He has represented health care entities in various acquisitions and consolidations and other miscellaneous health care ventures and transactions. He also advises clients on legal issues relating to the provision of telemedicine and health information services.

Mr. Dechene's clients have included a broad range of companies involved in providing health care services, including hospital systems, skilled nursing facilities, pharmaceutical companies, durable medical equipment companies, manufacturers of prostheses and other medical implants, laboratories, independent diagnostic testing facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, physicians and physician groups, and physician practice management companies. His work for these clients has involved the full spectrum of health care regulatory issues that such clients face.

Mr. Dechene has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He was an Adjunct Professor in the LLM Program at the DePaul University College of Law Health Law Institute between 1987 and 2009. Mr. Dechene received his BS in Mathematics, summa cum laude from Santa Clara University, his AM and PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan, and his JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School.

Degrees

BS, summa cum laude, Santa Clara University 
AM, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
JD, magna cum laude, University of Michigan Law School

Program Areas

Fraud & Abuse - Stark Intensive