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Lawyer of the Month: David Pivnick of McGuireWoods LLP 10-14-25
00:12:42
In this episode, David Pivnick, Partner at McGuireWoods LLP, discusses key industry trends, government enforcement priorities, and what separates great lawyers from good ones in an evolving legal landscape.
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- [00:00]
A
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast, one of our favorite features. And we do this periodically with different guests. We've got this month a Founder of the Month, a CEO of the Month. David Pivnick is an extraordinary lawyer and leader, and he's going to be featured this month, in October, as the Lawyer of the Month. And so we're going to talk to David about his background, some of the things he's done, and a lot more. Just a brilliant, brilliant leader in our Lawyer of the Month at the Becker Business and Becker Private Equity Podcast. David, can you take a moment? You've built this tremendous practice in health care and in private equity, and really a litigator that deals with big, big cases, often big false claims cases, and often at this intersection of law, health care, private equity. What originally drew you into sort of health care and litigation, and how has your career evolved in this area?
- [00:57]
B
Yeah. Appreciate you having me on, Scott, and the kind words. For a long time growing up, and then as I sort of got a little older, I long wanted to be a lawyer and knew I wanted to be a litigator. I like some of the competitive aspects of it and the fact that there's sort of wins and losses, but I also really like the strategy of being able to think through different situations and position cases in a way that's favorable to, you know, my clients and helping them navigate things in a way that leads to a win or at least another favorable result. So I long knew I wanted to be a litigator, went to law school with that in mind, and that didn't really change during law school, and went to another firm where I started and just was doing general commercial litigation without really any designs on specialization at all, and for a variety of reasons wanted to look for a different opportunity and ended up interviewing at McGuire Woods. You know, at this point, it's been almost 16 years ago now, and it really wasn't until you and I sat there when you, when I it kind of became clear to me that this was a healthcare litigation role. So it wasn't by any means something that I did with a great design or intentionality at the time I frankly stumbled into it. But it's worked out very well. And looking at it at that point, talking to you and some others thought healthcare was sort of an area that there would be a lot of work and opportunity, so that if I specialize there, I'd be able to build a brand and a strong practice, which has played out better than I could have expected. And then over time, the two ways things are sort of pivoted there. One, you know, I think when I came in I was expecting a lot more commercial disputes, contract disputes, non compete things of that nature. And there certainly has been a fair amount of that work and opportunity. But I think one of the big changes is I got involved in a couple False Claims act cases early on, certainly have an interest in fraud and abuse in that area of the law and found that work very interesting and I think I'm pretty good at it. So my practice has heavily involved this. I've got a strong concentration on government investigations and False Claims act cases. And then the other big pivot was somewhere now, you know, I don't know, five to 10 years ago, probably six or seven years ago. More specifically, you know, I started doing a lot of work for our private equity clients, particularly those who are invested heavily in the healthcare industry. There's a lot of synergy there, both because a lot of our colleagues are strong and both practice groups and the firm has a lot of depth there. But also, you know, there's a lot of private equity investment in health care. So my skills and my ability to deal with clients have been helpful and that's been an area of strong focus and shift and again, in that instance, more about meeting the demand where it sits as compared to doing something more deliberate. But it certainly worked out very well.
- [04:02]
A
Thank you very, very much. And I think one of the things that you mentioned, which I think is so interesting about so many people that have had these great careers, great businesses, great practices, is yes, you kind of stumbled into it, but it, but it reminds me of this concept of preparation meets opportunity. Because one thing that people don't all know about David is he's brilliant, was valedictorian, he was law school class, also has great drive and great communication skills. And sometimes you take that preparation, that background, and you combine it with an opportunity and then the person has to be smart enough to see the opportunity and double and triple down on the opportunity. And that sort of has been one of the keys to success, is taking that opportunity and building it into this incredible, incredible practice. Let me ask you another question along those lines. You've built this great practice. When you look at sort of this intersection of the private equity world, the legal and regulatory world, what are some of the biggest trends that you're seeing shape your practice today and the opportunities today?
- [05:12]
B
Yeah, the first, the first thing is, you know, there's a continually, seemingly continually increasing amount of government scrutiny. And for years that's been present in the health care industry and there's been a fair amount of litigation. I mean, the False Claims act, you know, the volume of cases that are brought into the False Claims act has doubled, you know, now versus a decade ago or 15 years ago. And the vast majority of those cases are in the healthcare industry. And in recent years, you know, we've seen an increase beyond that in terms of, you know, attention on private equity and particularly where private equity funds are invested in healthcare. So being where the government is continuing to devote its enforcement efforts and the general increase in enforcement efforts is one of the main trends that I'm monitoring. I think there continues to be a lot of noise, not by bailiwick, but a lot of noise around antitrust considerations both at the federal and the state level, and focuses on bigger companies and bigger mergers and how that will play out. So I think, you know, that that keeps many of my colleagues very busy. Not something that I deal with, but certainly something that I monitor and comes up periodically, you know, in things that I'm working on. And then I think there's going to continue to be a shift in how private equity firms deal with and look at litigation. I think for many years it was sort of anathema and they were focused purely on, you know, what is accretive to the business and to the bottom line. And litigation was. Was long viewed as an unwanted nuisance and to be avoided if at all possible. And I think increasingly there's a recognition that, you know, litigation is not to, you know, not something that folks necessarily want to actively seek out, but it's part of business where there are these dynamics. When you're doing a lot of transactions, there's going to be issues that come up under the reps and warranties, you know, indemnification claims. I've seen a lot of earn out disputes, networking, capital disputes. And so I'm seeing a significant increase in the amount of work and litigation that's sort of purely private equity in nature. And I think there's a lot less reluctance to pursue those claims and to be vigorous in litigation than I was seeing several years ago.
- [07:45]
A
Take a moment on this question and I've got my thoughts on it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. What distinguishes someone from being a good lawyer versus a great lawyer? What's the distinction with a great lawyer? How is that different than somebody that does a good job? What do you see out there? What, what has like you can think about the experts you think about in yourself. Because I think of you as an absolutely top line, top tier lawyer, great lawyer. But. But give us a second on what distinguishes great from good.
- [08:17]
B
Yeah, I think the biggest thing, and you know, you said something to me years ago where you sort of categorized the difference between a good lawyer and a person who's a trusted advisor to clients. And I'm paraphrasing and maybe bring that up a bit, but that's a concept that I think is sort of stays top of mind for me. And I think it's sort of the answer to your question. There are lots of lawyers who, who are capable of doing legal research, doing legal writing, and, you know, trying to help clients and moving things along. I think the great lawyers are the ones who are willing to a completely own issues, not just be told what to do, but to be proactively figuring out and thinking through their client's business as well as the legal consequences. So. So that they're understanding how the legal work fits into the broader framework of what the client is trying to accomplish. That can then give pragmatic advice not just on the laws, regulations, and how to navigate legal challenges, but also how that advice fits, you know, in the broader business context and with the client's goals, because those goals can vary greatly, whether it's in a transactional setting or litigation. And then the last part of that is giving frank and direct and actual answers and advice. I think a lot of lawyers have a reputation for hemming and hawing and a lot of hedging and not being willing to answer direct questions. And I think sometimes those stereotypes are unfair. But I do see that far too often. And I try and give my clients actual answers to actual questions when possible. And if there's not a direct answer, there's sort of an it depends, then I'll give them the it depends, but also explain exactly what it depends on and how we can navigate that uncertainty, just sort of get to the best possible result. So I think being able to take that ownership of the problem, put it in the broader context and then get actual answers is what makes, you know, a good lawyer into a great lawyer.
- [10:30]
A
Thank you. And I love that. We've only got time, Dave, for one more question. So let me ask you this question. When you look at the next several years, the next three to five years, what do you see as the most impactful developments at this intersection of law, health care, private equity? What do you see as the most, you know, the biggest impact?
- [10:53]
B
I think, from a. From the impact on the actual subject matter, from the industry standpoint, from my standpoint, it will continue to be government regulation and where the Department of Justice devotes its investigative authority and efforts. And that in the next few years there's going to be an administration change again. Whether it's to another Republican president or to the Democrats, one way or the other, they'll be changed. So I think shifts in government priorities will be critical. I think at a broader level we're continuing to see, and I have not yet really taken as much ownership of this as maybe I should, but we're continuing to see an increase in the impact of AI on day to day tasks and work. And I think that will, from a legal industry standpoint, continue to be interesting. And I know the firm McGuire woods is certainly investing meaningfully in AI and view that as an important tool for, you know, as we move forward into the future. And I think that will continue to be something that myself and others will have to be strategically thinking through how we can intelligently and appropriately, you know, use AI to our clients advantage.
- [12:08]
A
Thank you very, very much. And quite a fascinating, evolving world. Again, David is a deeply engaged, incredibly gifted lawyer who works at this intersection of health care, private equity and a lot of times on white collar criminal type cases or false claims cases. Really a fantastic person. We are thrilled this month to feature David as the lawyer of the Month on the Becker Private Equity and Business podcast. David, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. Thank you very, very much.
- [12:39]
B
Thank you for having me. Scott.