Joseph Harrington

Joseph Harrington is a partner in the Private Equity group at Goodwin. He joined the firm in 2023.

Joe’s practice is focused on healthcare law. He advises clients on corporate and regulatory issues impacting healthcare mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, restructurings, and reorganizations. Joe’s clients cover the spectrum of the healthcare industry. He represents private equity and strategic investors as both buyers and sellers in transactions. He also counsels portfolio companies and independent healthcare and support services providers on an ongoing basis with respect to corporate and healthcare regulatory matters. Joe’s clients include retail, specialty, compounding, long-term care, and institutional pharmacies, hospitals and health systems, physician groups, community health centers, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and third-party logistics providers, home health agencies, group purchasing organizations, telehealth companies, veterinary practices, and pharmacy services administrative organizations.

Clients rely on Joe’s expertise on a broad range of regulatory, risk management, and transactional matters. He frequently assists clients in matters involving Medicare and Medicaid issues, federal and state fraud and abuse laws (including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, and False Claims Act), payor contracting, credentialing, and audits, corporate practice of medicine restrictions, licensure issues, commercial contracting, and developing compliance programs. He has particular expertise in issues facing all participants in the pharmaceutical industry, advising manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, third-party logistics providers, health systems, 340B covered entities and contract pharmacies, hub services providers, and retail, specialty, compounding, long-term care, and institutional pharmacies on regulatory and commercial issues, including licensure, governmental and commercial reimbursement, and 340B eligibility, contracting, and compliance.

Joe's diverse experiences set him apart from his peers. In addition to his experience in private practice, he worked for nearly four years at MassHealth, the state Medicaid program for Massachusetts and one of the most ambitious and expansive Medicaid programs in the country. While there, he supported the pharmacy, community health center, and durable medical equipment programs, among others, and supported many novel and innovative projects including the implementation of the state's first-of-its-kind accountable care program and the development of a value-based framework for pharmaceutical pricing. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Criminal Prosecutions Division of the Texas Office of the Attorney General, where he worked on white collar and public corruption prosecutions.

Joe’s clients cover the spectrum of the healthcare industry. He represents private equity and strategic investors as both buyers and sellers in transactions. He also counsels portfolio companies and independent healthcare and support services providers on an ongoing basis with respect to corporate and healthcare regulatory matters. Joe’s clients include retail-specialty and long-term care pharmacies, hospitals and health systems, physician groups, community health centers, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, home health agencies, group purchasing organizations, telehealth companies, veterinary practices, and pharmacy services administrative organizations.

Representative matters:

• Represented a private equity sponsor in three acquisitions of industry-leading providers of home health care, non-medical home care, and related services to seniors and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, one of which was recognized by Global M&A Network with the Health Services Deal of the Year Award*
• Represented a pharmacy benefit entity specializing in Medicare Part A-covered drugs in connection with a private equity investment. The investment was preceded by a series of acquisitions, designed to consolidate several existing companies into a single platform for post-acute services, pharmacy benefit management, and pharmacy operations*
• Represented a health care investment fund in the acquisition, a pharmacy management and telepharmacy business, and has advised the company’s general counsel on a broad range of healthcare regulatory and compliance matters following the acquisition, including state board of pharmacy investigations and enforcement actions, reporting and disclosure law compliance, and commercial contracting issues*
• Represented a long-term care pharmacy treating patients with complex medical conditions residing in their own homes, in an equity sale to a private equity sponsor, and, since the sale, has advised the pharmacy and its sponsor regarding intracompany drug transfers and co-branding issues*

*Denotes experience prior to joining Goodwin.

Before joining the firm, he worked for nearly four years in the Office of General Counsel at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the state’s Medicaid agency. There he supported the pharmacy, nursing home, community health center, and accountable care organization programs in audits, compliance with federal and state law, establishment of reimbursement rates, promulgation of state regulations, and contracting.

Before that, Joseph worked in the Criminal Prosecutions Division of the Texas Office of the Attorney General, where he worked on white collar and public corruption prosecutions.

• Americas' Rising Star Dealmaker, Americas and Global Markets M&A Atlas Awards, 2024
• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch: Health Care Law, 2022-2023

• Co-Author, “California Assembly Bill 3129, Regulating Private Equity- and Hedge Fund-backed Healthcare Transactions, Awaiting Governor’s Approval,” Goodwin Client Alert, September 5, 2024
• Co-Author, “Additional Disclosure Required: CMS Implements Substantial Changes to Reporting Skilled Nursing Facility Ownership Information,” Goodwin Client Alert, December 1, 2023
• Co-Author, “Cybersecurity Toolkit for Healthcare and Public Health Sector,” Goodwin Client Alert, November 21, 2023
• Co-Author, “California OHCA Publishes Final Regulations Regarding Healthcare Transaction Filing Requirements and Review Process,” Goodwin Client Alert, January 22, 2024