King & Spalding announced that Rob DeConti has joined the firm as a partner on its Healthcare team in its Government Matters and Regulation practice group. He is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

DeConti is the former Chief Counsel and Deputy Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG). As the OIG’s top attorney, DeConti led the office that serves as the HHS liaison to the U.S. Department of Justice for all healthcare enforcement actions under the False Claims Act and enforced HHS’s healthcare fraud remedies, such as program exclusion and the negotiation of Corporate Integrity Agreements. He has extensive experience in the application of healthcare fraud and abuse laws such as the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Beneficiary Inducement Statute, as well as the development and implementation of compliance strategies for healthcare entities and compliance oversight by boards of directors.

“With more than 25 years at the HHS Office of Inspector General, including as its Chief Counsel, Rob brings a wealth of leadership and experience in the healthcare fraud and investigations issues that affect every healthcare, medical device, clinical lab and pharmaceutical company in some way,” said Mark Polston, co-chair of the firm’s Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry Group.  “Rob’s substantive experience in healthcare fraud and abuse laws – and in particular his experience enforcing healthcare fraud remedies that are unique to HHS – will complement and expand upon the types of counseling and enforcement services that we provide our healthcare, pharma, medical device and life sciences clients.”

DeConti earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law.

“King & Spalding is a known leader in the healthcare and life sciences fields and is home to many excellent lawyers I have known and worked with throughout my career, so it feels like a natural fit for me to grow my private practice career here,” DeConti said. “I’m looking forward to putting my experience to work with my new colleagues on the healthcare team to advise clients on regulatory issues, provide affirmative counseling on healthcare fraud laws, and guide companies through enforcement actions.”

This news story was originally published on the firm’s website.