Former HHS Official Joins King & Spalding

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Aug 31, 2011) - Preeya M. Noronha, the former acting general counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has joined King & Spalding's FDA and life sciences practice as counsel in Washington, D.C., the firm announced today. Noronha joins King & Spalding from Latham & Watkins.

"Preeya's extensive experience at HHS on matters related to CMS and the FDA gives our practice additional depth and increases our capacity to help clients navigate the new complexities emerging in the health care industry arising from the Accountable Care Act," said Patrick Morrisey, co-chair of King & Spalding's FDA and life sciences practice. "We are excited that Preeya has joined our team."

Noronha provides advice and counseling on legal and regulatory issues involving HHS, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She has specific expertise in Medicare and Medicaid regulatory issues, reimbursement matters, health care litigation and enforcement matters, health care-related transactions, fraud and abuse matters, health care privacy and security, and legal policy advocacy before government agencies.

At HHS, Noronha served as deputy general counsel and principal deputy general counsel in addition to acting general counsel. In these positions, she was legal advisor to the secretary of HHS and supervised an office of more than 400 lawyers responsible for providing legal advice to the entire department, including CMS, FDA, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office for Civil Rights. Noronha advised HHS officials on legal issues involving CMS, provided legal review of CMS regulations, and supervised the conduct of litigation involving the agency. She also counseled senior HHS officials on government ethics matters and congressional oversight and investigations of HHS programs.

Prior to her service at HHS, Noronha practiced constitutional and administrative law as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Foreign Service, cum laude, from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

"I am excited to join the talented team of lawyers in King & Spalding's FDA and life sciences practice and look forward to advising our clients on key legal and policy issues affecting the health care industry," Noronha said.

King & Spalding's FDA and life sciences practice focuses on representing pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology and other healthcare technology companies, as well as food manufacturers, in a wide range of regulatory, compliance, policy and litigation matters. More than 40 lawyers and non-lawyer professionals in the firm's Washington, D.C., office provide sophisticated counseling and advice to more than 100 drug and device manufacturers and others in the healthcare technology sector, including nine of the 25 largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, and 18 of the 25 largest device manufacturers.

King & Spalding's healthcare litigation practice spans all facets of the industry representing for-profit and non-profit health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, managed care organizations such as insurers, HMOs, administrators of self-funded plans and pharmacy benefit managers, and accounting firms in health industry related issues. The firm offers a combination of lawyers who have deep healthcare expertise and lawyers who also routinely try high-exposure and mission critical cases. Its healthcare litigators are trained to litigate in court, before juries and in various appellate forums.

About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.