Lawyer Overview

Mr. Lightfoot is a shareholder at Murphy Desmond S.C. having joined the firm in 1996.  Mr. Lightfoot focuses his practice in health law with an emphasis on the representation of hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the areas of survey and certification, licensure, regulatory compliance, Department of Justice investigations, administrative appeals, risk management and civil lawsuit defense, HIPAA compliance, employment, guardianship, general business, contracts, acquisition/sale and daily operational issues.  He has represented hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities on numerous matters before State and Federal agencies, including Wisconsin DHS and CMS, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Wisconsin DOJ.  He also represents health care and other licensed professionals in license matters before the Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensing.

He has been recognized by his peers in Madison Magazine as one of the top health care lawyers in Dane County in 2007 and 2009 and is listed in Best Lawyers in America in the health care law category.

Mr. Lightfoot is currently licensed in Wisconsin as a Registered Nurse and brings to his law practice nine years of diverse nursing experience, having worked in a variety of hospital settings from critical care to oncology.  In 1993, he served as the Dehn Medico-Legal Fellow at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

Mr. Lightfoot is a frequent lecturer in Wisconsin on health care facility regulation, operations and issues affecting health care professionals.

Mr. Lightfoot currently serves as chair of the firm's Health Law Practice Group.

Areas of Practice

• Administrative/Regulatory/Legislative
• Health Law

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Licensing, Elder Law, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Government Agencies & Programs, Health & Health Care Law, Nursing Home, Professional Malpractice Law

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1995
• Wisconsin, 1996

Certification/Specialties

• Registered Nurse, State of Wisconsin, 1986

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), President's Council
• American Bar Association (Health Law Section)
• State Bar of Wisconsin (Board of Governors, 2003-2006; Health Law Section Board)
• Wisconsin Assisted Living Association, President and Board Chair, 2008-present, (Board of Directors 2002-present, Legislative Committee Co-Chair)
• American Health Lawyers Association
• Wisconsin Health Care Association
• Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
• Knights of Columbus, Council 11155 (Officer 2005-2009)
• Verona Area Fire District Commission, 2006-2009

Honors and Awards

• Dehn Medico-Legal Fellow, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin, 1993
• Scholarship Award, Hamline University School of Law, 1995
• Named a Madison, Wisconsin "Top Lawyer" in Madison Magazine January 2007 and 2009
• Listed in Best Lawyers in America (September 2009-present: Health Care Law)

Classes and Seminars

• Frequent Speaker, State & National Health Care Associations

Pro Bono Activities

• Volunteer, Verona Hometown Village

Education

• Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1995
  J.D. (Scholarship Award)
• Middle Tennessee State University, 1990
  B.S.
• St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing, 1986
  Diploma

Published Works

• Wisconsin Assisted Living Association Newsletter, Frequent Contributor
• "The 'Case' for a Surrogate Decision Maker Statute in Minnesota," Hamline Journal of Public Law & Policy, Fall 1994

Address

33 East Main Street
Suite 500
Madison, WI 53703

Phones

(608) 268-5618

Faxes

(608) 257-2508

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.murphydesmond.com