J. Maxwell Cooper

Partner

Max represents corporate and individual clients with a focus on litigation and dispute resolution. He litigates in state and federal trial courts through California, securing favorable outcomes for his clients. He handles a broad range of matters, including antitrust and unfair competition litigation, False Claims Act (FCA) and other whistleblower litigation, contract disputes, reimbursement disputes, Medicare appeals and billing disputes, fair procedure and peer review, shareholder and partnership disputes, disputes over non-competition agreements and physician buy-outs, labor and employment disputes, and healthcare whistleblower actions. 

Max also counsels healthcare and technology clients on compliance with state and federal regulations, including the corporate practice of medicine, state and federal healthcare regulations (including California’s Knox-Keene Act and federal Medicare laws), and state and federal privacy laws (including HIPAA, CMIA, CCPA, and CPRA).

Recent representative experience includes:

  • Lead counsel for international electronics company against price-fixing class action claims
  • Lead counsel for corporate healthcare defendant against monopolization and other tort claims
  • Lead counsel for physician in litigation alleging whistleblower retaliation and seeking to restore privilege to participate on a San Francisco hospital’s teaching service. Making new law in the area, the court found the hospital violated physician’s right to fair procedure and restored his membership on the teaching service. Read the decision.
  • Representing an IPA in litigation and arbitration brought by out-of-network emergency physician groups alleging routine underpayments, securing an award finding that the IPA’s rate of payment was reasonable value for the services provided, and a favorable settlement of a related lawsuit.
  • Lead counsel for physician shareholder in dispute with surgery center over reduced buyout price due to allegations of competition, securing a favorable settlement.
  • Representing physician in wage dispute with former medical group that claimed accounts receivable were not owed due to competition, securing a favorable settlement.
  • Representing medical group in dispute with Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and Medicare appeal regarding Medicare penalty triggered by ACO’s failure to properly report PQRS data on behalf of medical group.

Experience prior to joining KG includes:

  • Representing defendant electronics manufacturer in multidistrict antitrust litigation (including a class action) alleging international price fixing conspiracy.
  • Representing plaintiff shareholders of a medical device company in a breach of contract and fraud litigation, resulting in a jury verdict exceeding $250 million.

Max was selected as a Rising Star in Northern California by Super Lawyers in 2018, 2019, and 2020.  He is a member of the California Society for Healthcare Attorneys and has presented at its annual seminar.  He is admitted to the bar in both California and New York. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Districts Courts for the Northern District of California, Eastern District of California, and Southern District of New York.  Before joining KG, Max practiced law in the New York and San Francisco offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Max received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2010, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and received his B.A. with honors from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006.  

Previous Attorney Charlie Y. Chou
Next Attorney Frank E. Gamma
Back to people