Chesley S. McLeod

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8524
Fax: 404.873.8525
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

Chesley is a partner and member of the firm’s Litigation and Healthcare practice groups and co-chair of the Hospitals & Health Systems industry team. Chesley counsels and represents clients in a broad range of business, employment, and healthcare-related disputes. His practice has a particular focus on representing various healthcare providers, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospices, home health agencies, large physician networks and practice groups, and DME providers. While Chesley proactively works with his clients to mitigate risks and achieve business goals, he consistently is called upon to represent his clients in all manner of dispute resolution forums, including mediation, arbitration, civil litigation, government investigations and enforcement actions, and administrative disputes and appeals. Chesley also regularly counsels and represents clients in the defense of putative class and collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and related privacy and consumer protection statutes.

Additionally, Chesley has extensive domestic and international arbitration experience, serving as counsel in international arbitration proceedings administered by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Related Services

Related Industries

    Experience

    • Representing and advising national durable medical equipment provider in nationwide recall and related multi-district litigation
    • Successfully defended national long-term care provider in putative collective and class action involving alleged Fair Labor Standards Act violations; avoided class treatment of claims in federal district court and resolved individual claims in subsequent private arbitration
    • Secured grant of motion to dismiss and denial of emergency injunctive relief on behalf of Georgia’s largest physician network in actions filed in both federal and state court
    • Advise regional hospital systems and physician networks in relation to physician credentialing and privileging decisions
    • Secured summary judgment on behalf of brokerage firm in action alleging breaches of fiduciary duties relating to procurement of nationwide insurance programs
    • Assisted one of the nation’s leading Universities resolve highly controversial and public dispute involving allegations of vast fraud and conspiracy scheme
    • Advised a preeminent national healthcare provider in providing guidance to directors and officers in negotiations over the withdrawal of financial assistance to a Georgia rural hospital
    • Represented hospital system in successfully obtaining certificate of need to establish an open heart surgery program
    • Secured complete defense award and recovery of costs and fees in ICC arbitration in Paris, France for national food and beverage broker
    • Successfully defended and obtained summary judgment on behalf of former owner of national financial services company in multi-million dollar contract disputes in three separate actions in federal district courts in Illinois and Georgia and Metro Atlanta Business Court
    • Successfully defended global software manufacturer in ICDR arbitration against claims for alleged breaches of representations and warranties made as part of company purchase and sale agreement
    • Advising company with respect to its efforts to build out its national sales force
    • Successfully defended healthcare products company defend alleged violations of restrictive covenants and related claims
    • Serving as counsel to wind-down entities in defense of multiple physicians’ claims for anticipatory breach of employment contracts following sale of Level I trauma hospital and associated regional health care system
    • Counsel for national company in defense of nationwide putative class action brought in U.S. District Court in Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the Fair Credit Reporting Act involving employer disclosures given to applicants for employment; Court denied plaintiff’s motion for class certification and dismissed named plaintiff’s claims with prejudice where company faced exposure in excess of $95M
    • Successfully resolved a proposed nationwide putative class action brought in Georgia under the Fair Credit Reporting Act against a company providing payroll agent services under various public health programs
    • Conducted internal investigation and review for leading national healthcare provider regarding alleged violations of company’s procurement policies and procedures
    • Serving as counsel for regional health system in defense of qui tam action alleging False Claims Act violations in relation to wound care treatments
    • Coordinated internal investigation for national healthcare chain in response to alleged Anti-Kickback violations
    • Successfully represented several national healthcare companies in Department of Justice investigations of alleged False Claims Act violations for therapy reimbursement
    • Successfully represented regional health system in Department of Justice investigation of physician compensation agreements
    • Representing the Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals for purposes of filing amici curiae briefs in the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court in multiple class actions challenging Georgia hospitals’ traditional use of the Georgia hospital lien statute
    • Advised national hospice provider with respect to HMO’s demands for repayment of millions of dollars of claims for alleged billing omissions and mistakes; HMO ultimately paid full value of all disputed claims following multiple meetings with HMO’s C-Suite decision-makers, thereby avoiding costly litigation
    • Successfully defended multiple leading healthcare providers in defense of Department of Community Health’s action to revoke providers’ permits, which would have resulted in closure of providers’ operations; DCH reinstated permits following lengthy administrative appeal and related negotiations
    • Obtained complete reversal of civil monetary penalty imposed by the Georgia Department of Community Health for assisted living community based on alleged regulatory violations and survey findings
    • Represented regional hotels in ownership and control disputes in Georgia state court actions
    • Served as counsel to two leading commercial landlords (one in Texas and one in Pennsylvania) in nationwide receivership case pending in the Middle District of Georgia
    • Secured recovery under stop-loss policy against broker and third party administrator of employee benefit plan
    • Successfully represented one of the nation’s leading Universities in AAA arbitration regarding alleged breach of a multi-million dollar program management agreement
    • Successfully defended numerous companies in professional liability cases pending in various superior and state courts across the State of Georgia
    • Served as counsel for long-term care provider challenging CMS’s imposition of civil monetary penalty based on survey findings
    • Advised national healthcare provider in vendor contract dispute; provider avoided litigation without contractual concessions and/or monetary settlement
    • Achieved complete defense judgment for mental health provider against independent contractor in contract dispute alleging breach of claims run-out provision
    • Successfully represented leading health care provider in multi-million dollar lawsuit involving claims for tortious interference, defamation, and Georgia RICO
    • Successfully represented leading food service distributor in multiple actions to enforce employee covenants
    • Secured summary judgment in favor of national pipeline and distribution company against age discrimination claims flowing from a company-wide multi-jurisdictional workforce reorganization
    • Successfully defended several commercial property owners in litigation alleging Americans with Disabilities Act violations
    • Negotiated employee compensation agreement for top executive of start-up company, including lucrative stock option plan
    • Assisting hospital revise its policies and procedures in response to multiple putative class actions challenging Georgia hospitals’ compliance with Georgia’s hospital lien statute
    • Successfully represented global private security company before state regulatory agencies
      Client Successes

      Credentials

      Education
      • Mercer University, Juris Doctor,
        cum laude
        • Mercer Law Review, Eleventh Circuit Survey Editor
        • Moot Court Board
      • University of Georgia, Bachelor of Business Administration
      Admissions
      • State of Georgia – 2006
      Court Admissions
      • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia – 2007
      • United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
      • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
      • Georgia Supreme Court
      • Georgia Court of Appeals
      Associations
        • American Health Lawyers Association
        • American Bar Association
        • Atlanta International Arbitration Society
        • National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Trial Skills Program Graduate
        • Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys
        • Georgia Health Care Association

      Recognition

      • Best Lawyers in America®, Health Care Law, Litigation – Health Care, 2023-25
        • “Lawyer of the Year,” Litigation – Healthcare, 2025

      News & Insights

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