S. Derek Bauer
FAX: 404.527.4198
Experience
Derek Bauer concentrates his practice in litigation, specializing in health care, media, First Amendment and intellectual property litigation. Mr. Bauer is ranked by Chambers USA 2009 as one of Georgia's leading lawyers for health care.
Mr. Bauer's health care practice includes representing hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, insurers, physicians, pharmacists, allied health professionals, long-term and personal care homes, and diagnostic imaging providers in commercial, regulatory, peer review/staff privileges, and antitrust litigation in the state and federal courts, in arbitration, and before regulatory agencies throughout the Southeast. Mr. Bauer's experience includes the defense of qui tam/whistleblower claims.
Representative recent high-profile health care cases include:
- Member of team obtaining summary judgment on behalf of a national health insurer in major multi-district RICO class action consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and brought by physician providers seeking billions of dollars in damages against the managed care industry. See In re: Managed Care Litigation, 430 F.Supp.2d 1336 (S.D. Fla. 2006)
- Member of team obtaining dismissal of class action litigation brought against several Southeastern non-profit community hospitals in state and federal courts challenging uninsured billing practices. See, e.g., Satterfield v. Southern Regional Health System, --- S.E.2d ----, 2006 WL 2044694 (Ga.App. 2006)
Mr. Bauer's media and First Amendment practice includes representing publishers, authors, print and broadcast media, and governmental entities in free speech, libel, access, and privacy cases and on other constitutional issues. His experience includes defending defamation claims, opposing media gag orders, challenges to and defense of statutes and ordinances relating to speech and expressive conduct, pre-publication script reviews, and cases involving newsrack regulation and judicial campaign speech restrictions. Mr. Bauer also counsels his media and entertainment industry clients on intellectual property rights, and is experienced in litigating Lanham Act and unfair competition matters in federal and state courts, including trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and deceptive trade practices matters.
Representative recent high-profile civil rights and First Amendment cases include:
- Member of team that successfully defended John and Patsy Ramsey in defamation lawsuits accusing the couple of murdering their daughter, JonBenet Ramsey. See Wolf v. Ramsey, 253 F.Supp.2d 1323, (N.D.Ga. Mar 31, 2003) and Hoffman-Pugh v. Ramsey, 193 F.Supp.2d 1295, (N.D.Ga. Apr 05, 2002), aff'd 312 F.3d 1222, (11th Cir.(Ga.) Nov 19, 2002)
- Member of team that brought civil claims for sexual assault against Kobe Bryant in Colorado
- Defense of lawsuit challenging constitutionality of municipal ordinance banning fortune-telling for profit
Prior to attending Emory University School of Law, Mr. Bauer worked for Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat at the United States Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, and as a freelance journalist and sportswriter.
Education
- J.D., Emory University School of Law, with honors, 2000
- B.A., Tulane University, 1995
Admitted
- Georgia
- Georgia Court of Appeals
- Superior Court of Fulton County
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Publications:
- "Hospital Charges Under Siege — Are Provider-Based Facility Fees the Next Class Action Frontier?" co-authored with Kathy Butler Polvino, For The Record, (March 2006).
- "Health Care Beware: How the 'Business' of Health Care is Increasingly Being Challenged In Courts," co-authored with Kathy Butler Polvino, Business to Business, (July 2005).
Seminars and Presentations:
- "Master Class on Assessing What the Class Action Fairness Act of 1995 Means for Your Clients, Cases, and Practice," 3rd National In-House Counsel Conference on Defending and Managing Complex Litigation, (March 2006).
- "MDL Tactics and Strategies: What You and Your Client Can Expect In The Trenches," 2nd National In-House Counsel Conference on Defending and Managing Complex Litigation, (March 2005).
Professional Activities:
- American Bar Association
- American Health Lawyers Association
- Atlanta Bar Association
- Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys
- Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
- State Bar of Georgia
- State Bar of Georgia Intrastate Moot Court Committee, Chairman