Mitchell Surface

Mitch is an Associate in Maynard Nexsen’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice groups. He works with healthcare providers and suppliers across the United States with the full range of regulatory, compliance and transactional matters directly impacting their business operations and goals. His practice varies widely according to the needs of his clients, but typical engagements include:

• Working with clients to structure arrangements involving clinical and hospital/physician integration, co-management, value-based enterprises, and joint ventures.
• Dealing with health care regulatory and compliance issues (e.g., issues involving Medicare reimbursement; Stark, Anti-Kickback, and other federal and state fraud and abuse; privacy and security issues under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; provider enrollment and changes of ownership; telemedicine; antitrust; state licensure; the 340B Drug Pricing Program; physician and hospital reimbursement; and state certificate of need laws).
• Drafting policies, procedures, and other documents for health systems and physician groups; counseling clients regarding medical staff bylaws and credentialing matters; advising clients regarding the No Surprises Act; and working with clients on nationwide hemp and cannabis distribution and fulfillment.
• Assisting clients with internal and external audits and investigations (e.g., Medicare audits related to overpayments; submissions to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP); OIG SDP settlements; U.S. Food and Drug Administration medical device clinical trial investigations; and violations of federal and state prescribing laws and related audits, investigations, and reporting).
• Advising providers and start-ups in the life sciences space, including clinical laboratories, FDA-regulated devices and software, digital health, drug development, and clinical research.

With an LL.M. in Health Law and Policy and serving as President and founding member of the Student Health Lawyers Association while in law school, Mitch is a zealous advocate and passionate about healthcare law. He earned his J.D., cum laude, and LL.M. in Health Law and Policy from Cumberland School of Law, where he also served as Online Editor for the American Journal of Trial Advocacy and was awarded Scholar of Merit in several courses. He holds a B.A. in Political Science with a Minor in Professional Ethics, magna cum laude, from Valdosta State University.

Prior to joining Maynard Nexsen, Mitch practiced at a boutique litigation firm in Birmingham, where he concentrated his practice in the areas of professional liability litigation, representing physicians, providers, engineers, architects, designers, brokers, safety consultants, and other professionals. Mitch represented professionals in federal and state courts in Alabama and Georgia and assisted the firm with cases in Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Community & Professional

• State Bar of Alabama
  • Member, Quality of Life, Health & Wellness Committee (2023-present); Co-Chair of the Lawyer Wellness Month Sub-Committee (2023-present)
  • Member, Bench and Bar Committee (2023-present)
  • Member, Young Lawyers Section (2021-present)
  • Health Law Section (2022-present)
• State Bar of Georgia | Member, Young Lawyers Division; Health Law Section; Corporate Counsel Section (2022-present)
• State Bar of Tennessee (Member)
• Birmingham Bar Association | Member, Young Lawyers Section (2021-present); CLE Committee (2022-present)
• Children’s of Alabama | Community Member, Ethics Committee (2020-2023)
• Judge James Edwin Horton Inn of Court | Member (2021-present)
• American Health Lawyers Association | Member (2022-present)
• Cumberland School of Law’s Student Health Lawyers Association
  • Mentor (2022-present)
  • Coach, National Health Law Transactional Competition Team in Chicago, Illinois (2024)
• Cumberland School of Law - Health Care Law CLE Planning Committee | Member (2023-present)
• Moderator, legal panel on the Current State of Medical Marijuana in Alabama at the annual Developments and Trends in Health Care Law 2023 CLE, sponsored by the Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, and the Health Law Section of the Alabama Bar. (September 8, 2023)
• Moderator, Where Did My Day Go? Time Management Skills for Attorneys, presented by: Denise Cullen at Atticus, Inc., Birmingham Bar Association CLE (December 14, 2023)
• Speaker, Mitchell Surface and Kelli Flemming, 2024 State and Federal Healthcare Law Update, CLE Alabama, sponsored by The University of Alabama School of Law, (April 26, 2024)
• Speaker, Mitchell Surface, Denzel Okinedo, Susan Han, and Tripp Watson, Speaker’s Panel on Professionalism and Civility in the Practice of Law, Cumberland School of Law 1L Orientation, (August 15, 2024)
• Moderator, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN HEALTHCARE: Recent Developments and Hot Topics, presented by: Ty Kayam, Rene Quashie, and Vanessa Burrows, at the annual Developments and Trends in Health Care Law 2024 CLE, sponsored by the Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, and the Health Law Section of the Alabama Bar. (September 20, 2024)

Outside Maynard Nexsen

Mitch and his wife, Hannah Hammitte Surface, who is also an attorney in Birmingham, met on the first day of law school at Cumberland School of Law in Professor/Judge T. Brad Bishop’s contracts class. Mitch and Hannah reside in Trussville with their two beautiful twin daughters—Mary Boyd and Margaret Surface. In their free time, Mitch and Hannah enjoy spending time with their girls, cooking, traveling, binging TV series, and relaxing on Mitch’s family’s farm in Nashville, Georgia.

• Advised on and oversaw hospital audit and investigation of Medicare overpayments, as well as the reporting to the Office of Inspector General's Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP) and handling all direct communications with the OIG's lawyers, resulting in the lowest possible multiplier and credit for a previous reimbursement to Medicare.
• Handled Medicare enrollment for multi-state CLIA laboratory.
• Regularly advise provider startups, as well as providers on an ongoing basis.
• Counsel national fulfillment company on requirements for the storage, distribution, and fulfillment of Hemp Products, including Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabis.

Recognition

• Mid-South Super Lawyers Rising Star, Health Care (2024)