Scott C. Palecki

Scott C. Palecki is a partner in the firm, practicing extensively in the area of business and health care. He has devoted his professional career to the representation of clients doing business in the health care industry. Scott’s clients have included hospitals, hospital systems, rural and governmental hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, nursing facilities, home health and hospice businesses, laboratories, medical tourism companies, pharmacies, imaging centers, urgent care centers, and retail health businesses. Scott also works extensively with physicians and physician practices assisting in a myriad of complex legal questions. Scott serves as the practice group leader of the firm’s health care practice group.

Scott has developed long-standing relationships with health care clients and provides guidance and counsel on matters relating to operational, regulatory, reimbursement and compliance issues, including the Stark law, fraud and abuse, and physician compensation. He also provides expertise concerning Medicare and Medicaid certification and reimbursement, managed care and individual and facility licensure, and has handled numerous matters concerning medical staff bylaws, peer review, and credentialing matters. Scott has participated in many health care and corporate transactions including the development and syndication of numerous hospitals and ASCs throughout the United States, purchase and sale of hospitals and critical access hospitals, ASCs, physician practices and other ancillary health care businesses. Finally, Scott has assisted in several critical access hospital “replacement” projects.

In addition to his health care practice, Scott has led the firm’s state and local tax practice before the Kansas State Court of Tax Appeals for over a decade. He regularly represents clients before the Court concerning valuation, classification, tax exemption and other state and local taxation matters. Scott’s substantial experience includes complex commercial properties such as refineries, fertilizer plants, chemical plants and other complex manufacturing, processing and aerospace facilities, warehouses, distribution centers, big box retail stores, shopping malls, office buildings (including medical office buildings), hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, and oil and gas properties. Scott is a member of the Court of Tax Appeals Bench-Bar Committee.

He is rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, its highest rating for lawyers who have obtained a reputation among their peers for exemplary professional expertise, experience and stature. Scott has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® list and The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of health care law. In 2013 he was named by The Best Lawyers in America® the Wichita Health Care Law Lawyer of the Year. Scott is also recognized by Chambers USA as a as a leading health care and business attorney in the United States for his transactional practice and health-care related work.

Scott is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the Kansas Association of Hospital Attorneys (former President), and the Kansas, Wichita, and Topeka Bar Associations.

Scott is also a former Adjunct Professor at Washburn University School of Law where he taught Health Law for several years. He continues to frequently lecture on a variety of health law issues to clients, associations, and to other lawyers and groups.

Scott, his wife Kristin, and their five boys live in the Kansas City area.