Delphine O'Rourke

Recognized as one of the foremost attorneys specializing in women’s health, Delphine O’Rourke is a health law subject matter expert and leader of Goodwin's groundbreaking Women's Health & Wellness Industry practice. Delphine’s experience and expertise has established her as an advocate, thought leader, and global speaker as well as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School.

As trusted advisor to clients, Delphine partners with senior teams to craft comprehensive legal strategies around the most acute challenges presented by the complex and constantly changing federal and state laws that impact the health sector. From reproductive rights, to patient access, to the end of the Public Health Emergency, to payment models for remote patient monitoring, to service line development to enterprise risk management – she is an invaluable advisor for companies transforming the health and wellness industry.

Delphine’s health law practice is integrated with her active transactional practice advising innovative sponsors, portfolio companies, healthcare and life sciences companies, and early stage founders. Growth companies seek out her counsel as they raise capital, seek to develop relationships with investors, and connect with the both the women’s health and global health ecosystems.

Delphine is also an experienced health system leader and in-house counsel. She served as Associate General Counsel of Ascension, one of the largest healthcare systems in the U.S., and now serves as outside general counsel to many of her clients. She is recognized for her business-focused approach, deep understanding of the industry, operational experience, and ability to drive adoption of innovative products, services, and investments.

As the demand for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) guidance has grown dramatically over the past several years, stakeholders – boards, public companies, fund managers - have come to recognize the central role of health, gender equity, and human rights in their ESG principles. As a member of the firm’s ESG and Impact practice, Delphine advises a wide range of companies in developing ESG strategies, principles, and standards.

Currently, Delphine serves on the boards of the Columbia Law School Alumni Association, The Forum of Executive Women, MDisrupt, and The Invisible Girl Project. She also serves as Ambassador for the National Health Law Program, Vice-Chair of the Women’s Leadership Council of the American Health Law Association, member of CHIEF (a private network focused on connecting and supporting women leaders), healthcare expert for Endeavor (the world’s leading community of high-impact entrepreneurs), and legal expert for Women of Wearables.

Healthcare Providers

• Serve as outside healthcare regulatory and contracting counsel for service providers, digital health companies, and supply chain vendors in transactions with health systems, academic medical centers and hospitals
• Advise women’s health and wellness clients including entrepreneurs, growth and mature clients on critical regulatory issues including, and not limited to, remote provision of healthcare, friendly PC models, prohibition on fee-splitting, changes of ownership, government payor requirements, corporate compliance, patient issues, partnerships and contractual arrangements, value-based contracting, private payor arrangements, licensing, accrediting, and enterprise risk management
• Advise a variety of healthcare providers on compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, OIG civil monetary penalties law, and state fraud and abuse provisions

Private Equity

• Advised Aldrich Capital Partners in its acquisition of Compliancy Group, a provider of a compliance-tracking solution that primarily tracks HIPAA compliance, serving the small to mid-size healthcare market
• Advised Aldrich Capital Partners in its acquisition of Rhythm Management Group Corp., a minority-owned provider of remote monitoring services for cardiac patients
• Advised Great Hill Partners in its acquisition of a controlling equity stake in Clearwave Parent, Inc. at an enterprise value of $300 million
• Serve as outside counsel to private equity firms regarding portfolio companies, acquisitions of additional assets, and healthcare regulatory due diligence in connection with transactions
• Provide corporate and healthcare regulatory counsel to private equity clients in connection with formations and investments in healthcare investment funds
• Advise private equity companies regarding reimbursement strategies, Medicare and Medicaid requirements, corporate compliance, corporate practice of medicine and “friendly” PC structures
• Provide healthcare reimbursement advice and counsel to private equity clients investing in healthcare providers, health services and medical devices

Digital Health

• Advising Cano Health in its of acquisition of Doctor’s Medical Center, a provider of primary care and multi-specialty healthcare services
• Advising York Capital Management in its minority investment in Advanced Monitoring Caregiving Inc., a telehealth company that offers remote patient monitoring services
• Serve as outside counsel on telemedicine, fraud and abuse and corporate laws to a variety of digital health companies including in the women’s health and wellness industry
• Develop national growth legal strategies for telemedicine and tele-prescribing companies including counseling on multi-state telemedicine requirements, compliance plans, professional licensing, cross-state medical practice, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, physician-patient relationships, tele prescribing frameworks, fraud and abuse, and confidentiality
• Provide ongoing healthcare regulatory counsel, including fraud and abuse, reimbursement, and privacy, to artificial intelligence and clinical decision platforms in a variety of different sub-industries
• Advising Cano Health in its of acquisition of University Health Care, Inc., a provider of primary care to communities in South Florida

Healthcare Regulatory for Life Sciences Companies

• Advised Trillium Therapeutics Inc., an immuno-oncology company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer, in its sale to Pfizer Inc.
• Advised Nuvalent, Inc., a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating precisely targeted therapies for patients with cancer, on their $190.6 million initial public offering
• Advising Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage developing a portfolio of novel small molecule precision medicines, on their $222.3 million initial public offering
• Advising Achilles Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing precision T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, on its $175.5 million initial public offering
• Advising Autolus Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation, programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, on its $115 million follow-on offering
• Advising the underwriters in Sensei Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and delivery of the next generation of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, on its $133 million initial public offering
• Advising Kingswood Capital Management, LP, a private investment firm primarily focused on investing in businesses in transition, in connection with its acquisition of Cost Plus World Market from Bed Bath and Beyond Inc.
• Advising Collective Medical Technologies, a real-time care collaboration network used by payors and healthcare organizations to improve patient outcomes, in connection with its sale to PointClickCare Corp. for approximately $600 million
• Advising the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of NantKwest in connection with the company’s agreement to merge with ImmunityBio in a stock-for-stock transaction
• Advising Achilles Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing personalized cancer immunotherapies, on the completion of its £52.7 million Series C
• Advising a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing new immunometabolic therapies for cancer in a Series B Preferred Stock financingAdvising a growth equity investment group in connection with the purchase of Series B Preferred Stock of a pre-clinical life sciences company studying the proteins that drive cancer and other diseases

Delphine is a thought leader, global speaker, and lectures at Columbia Law School on the business of health and the law. She was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for her work in health care law for 2022 and 2023.

Delphine is a member of the American Bar Association, American Health Lawyers Association, where she serves as Vice Chair of the Women’s Leadership Committee, as well as the New York and Pennsylvania State Bar Associations.

Delphine is also serving as Legal Expert in Residence for Women of Wearables, Advisory Board Member for MDisrupt, and The Invisible Girl Project, Board Member for the Columbia Law School Alumni Association and The Forum of Executive Women, and member of CHIEF.

Delphine spent over a decade of dedication in legal and executive roles with Ascension, the second largest healthcare system and largest nonprofit health system in the US and the largest Catholic health system in the world.

Delphine has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America Best Lawyers for her work in Health Care Law 2022-2023.

Delphine was a recommended lawyer for Healthcare by The Legal 500 in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Delphine is a prolific author and frequent speaker on a range of healthcare legal issues. Her recent publications include:

• Co-Author, “Navigating the New Privacy Frontier Post-Roe: Challenges and Takeaways for FemTech Companies,” Practising Law Institute Chronicle, January 2023
• Quoted, “Women's health dominates midterm talk,” Axios, November 3, 2022
• Author, “Healthcare in a Post-Re World,” Goodwin Insights, October 20, 2022
• Author, “Seven Tips to Navigate the Legal Pandemonium in the post-Roe World,” Wharton’s Health Care Management Alumni Association, October 19, 2022
• Quoted, “Abortion pill startup Hey Jane notches hard-won $6M," Axios, October 19, 2022
• Quoted, “Abortion Emerges As Social Issue In Law Firm ESG Practices,” Law360, August 2, 2022
• Quoted, “How Roe Could Trigger Investment,” Axios, June 28, 2022
• Quoted, “Health Lawyers Ready for Becerra as Potential New HHS Chief,” Thomson Reuters Westlaw’s The Daily Docket, December 15, 2020
• Quoted, “Baffled judges press AHA: Why is an X-ray price ‘unknowable?’” Healthcare Dive, October 16, 2020
• Quoted, “If Your Provider Gets Covid: A 5-Step Plan to Ease Patients’ Minds, Adhere to Privacy Rules,” Part B News, July 20, 2020
• Quoted, “Hospitals Must Prepare for Price Transparency, Experts Say,” Modern Healthcare, July 17, 2020
• Quoted, “McConnell Draws Red Line Over Liability Protections,” Modern Healthcare, July 17, 2020
• Quoted, “Clock is Ticking for Hospitals to Post Rates They’ve Negotiated with Insurers,” Modern Healthcare, June 22/29, 2020
• Quoted, “Hospitals face major decisions on how to approach price transparency rule after legal defeat,” Fierce Healthcare, June 25, 2020

Delphine's upcoming and recent speaking engagements include:

Health Law & Healthcare Industry

• Speaker, “Updated and Enhanced: The Delta Variant, Vaccine Mandates, and Returning Your Employees to Work,” EHE Webinar, September 24, 2021
• Speaker, “Roadmap for Digital Health Partnerships,” Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), June 2, 2021 
• Speaker, “American Rescue Plan Act: What It Means For Your Healthcare Organization,” Phreesia Webinar Series, March 18, 2021
• Speaker, “How Will Regulation of Digital Products be Impacted by the New Administration,” MDisrupt webinar, March 9, 2021
• Speaker, “Impact of COVID on Early-Stage Startups,” Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project Symposium 2021, March 8, 2021
• Speaker, “COVID Gives Digital Health a Shot in the Arm,” 2nd Virtual Goodwin + KPMG @ JPMorgan Symposium, January 27, 2021
• Speaker, “Behavioral Health: Past, Present and Future,” Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit, December 8, 2020

Private Equity and Healthcare

• Speaker, “Healthcare Investing, Financing & Reimbursement,” INVEST virtual conference, April 21, 2021 
• Speaker, “The Coronavirus Vaccine: Legal Guidance for Employers and Their Employees,” EHE Health COVID-19 Webinar Series, December 2, 2020
• Speaker, "Navigating and Complying with the COVID-19 Waivers," Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA-NJ), June 23, 2020
• Speaker, "COVID-19’s Impact on Private Equity Investment in Health Care," Speaking of Health Law, Podcast, American Health Law Association, June 17, 2020

Women’s Health

• Speaker, “After Dobbs: The Impact on Telemedicine Abortion,” American Health Law Association, November 18, 2022
• Speaker, “After Dobbs: The Impact on Reproductive Medicine,” American Health Law Association, November 4, 2022 
• Speaker, “Putting Women’s Health on the Ballot,” Beyond The Paper Gown, October 26, 2022
• Speaker, “Roe v. Wade Ruling (Part Two),” HERVoice Podcast, July 14, 2022
• Speaker, “Women’s Health Tech Wednesday,” HITLAB Podcast, July 13, 2022
• Speaker, “Aftershocks: Unexpected Consequences of the Roe v. Wade Decision,” Beyond the Paper Gown, July 6, 2022
• Speaker, “The Future of Women's Health: Innovation, Access, and Transactions,” AHLA, June 27, 2022
• Speaker, "Healthtech Spotlight Panel: Women’s Health," LSX World Congress USA, June 22, 2022
• Speaker, “The Current State of Investment in Women's Health,” LSX Word Congress, Women’s Health CEO Forum, June 21, 2022 
• Speaker, “Primed for Growth: Innovating to Address the Business Opportunity in Building a Women’s Health Market,” Bio International Convention, June 13, 2022
• Speaker, “Deal Dynamics and Financing,” LSX Female Founders Workshop, October 26, 2021
• Moderator, “The Ai Frontier: How Female Founders' Diverse Perspectives Are Creating More Creative Solutions For Better Health," Shatter Summit, October 20, 2021
• Speaker, “Innovation in Women’s Health and Wellbeing,” LSX Femtech Leaders CEO Forum, October 12, 2021
• Moderator, “The Potential of Technology, AI and Big Data to Transform Women's Health," Women’s Health Innovation Summit, September 15, 2021
• Speaker, “FemTech Fundamentals: Health Systems & Hospitals as Partners and Clients,” FemTech Focus, June 23, 2021
• Speaker, “101 on Legal Issues in Women’s Health,” Women of Wearables, April 21, 2021
• Speaker, “Finally Their Attention: Women’s Health Innovation 2021 – 2030,” American Health Law Association, May 6, 2021
• Speaker, “Investing in Women’s Health,” Annual Transactions Conference, American Health Law Association, April 16, 2021
• Speaker, “101 on Legal Issues in Women’s Health,” Women of Wearables, April 8, 2021
• Speaker, “Women’s Health and Wellness Industry Panel,” Villanova Law School, March 24, 2021
• Speaker, “FemTech: An Act of Congress – Grants, Insurance, Policies, & the FDA,” FemTech Summit, March 22, 2021
• Speaker, “Women Leaders in Healthcare & Life Sciences,” CareSyntax Fireside Chat, March 9, 2021
• Speaker, “Women’s Health Tech Wednesdays,” HITLAB, February 24, 2021
• Speaker, “What Hospitals Need to Know About Disparities in Women’s and Maternal Health Care After COVID,” American Health Law Association, January 12, 2021

Leadership & Equity

• Moderator, “Keynote Address | Unleashing Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work,” Goodwin, October 4, 2021
• Speaker, “Healthcare: Racism Exists Here Too,” Be Part of the Solution (BPOTS) Series, May 12, 2021
• Speaker, “Productive Teams in a Time of Disruption,” Women in the Law, Podcast, American Health Law Association, March 3, 2021
• Speaker, “Practice in the Pandemic and Beyond,” Women in the Law, Podcast, American Health Law Association, March 1, 2021
• Speaker, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Health Law Bar: Intentional Partnerships,” American Health Law Association, December 3, 2020