Karla Kelly

Karla Kelly has more than 30 years of experience as a business and healthcare lawyer, with deep experience in the life sciences industry. Her legal career includes serving as an associate, special counsel and partner at local law firms and partnerships, including Gray Cary Ames & Frye (now DLA Piper) and Luce Forward (now Dentons US LLP), assistant general counsel at Scripps Health, and as general counsel for other private and public companies. Karla has expertise in in the areas of regulatory, general business and corporate law with a focus on FDA regulation of medical devices and clinical laboratory developed tests (LDT's); clinical research, corporate compliance and governance, including federal and state fraud and abuse issues, healthcare regulatory matters, provider and patient relations and board of directors governance. Karla also has significant experience in complex business transactions, including joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, and IPO's. As general counsel, Karla oversees risk management, litigation, intellectual property protection, securities transactions; contractual relationships, and legal compliance of corporate operations in the context of business, corporate and healthcare law. Representative clients in the past include hospitals, managed care health plans, integrated healthcare systems, medical device companies, health information exchange organizations; community clinics, physician practices, clinical research organizations, CLIA and CAP certified clinical laboratories, biotech companies, academic institutions and non-profit community-based organizations. Karla obtained her law degree in 1984 from George Washington University School of Law, and prior to that, practiced as a registered nurse in obstetrics in the private sector and with the US Navy Nurse Corps after receiving a bachelor's degree in nursing from the College of St. Catherine.