Mr. Werner is a 2007 graduate of the Seton Hall University School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Seton Hall Legislative Journal and competed nationally as a member of the Interscholastic Moot Court Board. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.Mr. Werner joined Buttaci & Leardi, LLC as an Associate Attorney in September 2008. He became a Member of the Firm in January 2012. The Firm changed its name to Buttaci Leardi & Werner LLC on January 1, 2016. Mr. Werner co-manages the Firm’s Civil Litigation practice, and manages the Firm’s Criminal Defense and Regulatory Defense practices.Mr. Werner is a zealous advocate for his clients, both in and out of the courtroom. He has a varied litigation practice, representing physicians and other healthcare providers and organizations in civil litigation, criminal investigations and prosecutions, and professional licensing actions. In that capacity, Mr. Werner regularly handles matters related to post-payment audits, overpayment disputes and litigation, insurance fraud investigations and prosecutions, benefit disputes, and allegations of professional misconduct. Mr. Werner’s post-payment audit practice places special emphasis on the unique and complicated audits conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and its contractors.Mr. Werner’s civil litigation practice includes a special focus on the defense of complex insurance fraud and False Claims Act investigations and appeals of Medicare audits presented to the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals. His civil litigation practice also extends beyond fraud and abuse allegations, and he routinely litigates disputes relating to shareholder and/or ownership disputes, commercial and contract disputes; employer/employee relations, restrictive covenants, insurance coverage and reimbursement disputes, including benefit claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and patient collections mattersMr. Werner’s criminal litigation practice focuses on defending healthcare providers and entities in state and federal prosecutions for a variety of healthcare specific crimes. Beyond the underlying gravity of a criminal prosecution, Mr. Werner understands the significant impact that a criminal prosecution, even if resolved positively, can have on licensed professionals. As such, Mr. Werner counsels his clients on the ancillary consequences of criminal prosecutions and resolutions, including but not limited to navigating the pitfalls of potential exclusion by the Department of Health and Human Services and disciplinary proceedings before professional licensing boards.Mr. Werner relies upon his substantial experience in assessing the substantive merits of allegations of insurance fraud or professional misconduct to effectively—and realistically—counsel his clients on how to best respond to scrutiny from either third-party payers or regulatory agencies. He also assists clients with internal investigations into regulatory compliance issues and frequently advises his clients on proactive risk management and regulatory compliance, emphasizing how to proactively avoid payer or regulatory scrutiny in the first place.Beyond Mr. Werner’s litigation practice, he advises clients on multifaceted corporate transactions and structuring, as well as facility licensing matters, especially in the behavior health space.
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