Profile
Richard (Rick) Vroman’s work at Koley Jessen is unique in that he leads two separate practice groups that are very specific to his twenty years of experience as an attorney. As the leader of the Health Law Practice, Rick helps clients navigate the highly regulated and ever-changing global healthcare environment. As leader of the Executive Compensation Practice, he helps clients navigate complex compensation structures, develop short and long-term incentive programs, and plan for business succession.
Health Law
Rick’s work ranges from representing healthcare professionals in their personal and business matters, to advising global healthcare industry leaders on business and regulatory compliance matters.
His expertise includes advising clients with ties to the healthcare industry on business and contractual matters such as entity selection and formation, employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, compensation plans, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, as well as buy-sell and personal services agreements. Rick also has extensive experience advising clients on transactional and regulatory matters throughout the healthcare industry such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, real estate purchasing and leasing, equipment purchasing and leasing, asset protection, and data privacy and security matters (including HIPAA).
Rick has significant expertise advising healthcare clients with respect to their individual and entity licensing, medical staff, credentialing and peer review matters, as well as regulatory matters arising out of the client’s participation in, or ties to, the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which would include the Stark Law, Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and False Claims Act. He effectively represents clients before licensing boards as well as state and federal agencies governing both employment-related and healthcare matters.
As an employment lawyer, Rick is further specialized in the healthcare industry, as well as with executive and incentive compensation matters and unfair competition. He advises clients across the United States on the unique employment-related issues in the healthcare industry, including a broad array of employment-related contractual and tax matters, employment, confidentiality, noncompetition, and separation or severance agreements. He represents employers and executives in wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation cases.
Rick works closely with other attorneys and practice groups in the Firm to ensure that clients with ties to the healthcare industry receive the full contingent of expertise offered by the Firm in each discipline.
Rick is rated in Healthcare Law by Chambers and Partners, which noted, "He is always very responsive and gives all angles of the scenarios. He knows his stuff," and "He is very thorough, with outstanding attention to detail, and is able to keep complex negotiations moving forward."
Executive Compensation
In the Executive Compensation Practice area, Rick’s experience includes years of design and implementation of traditional and customized executive and management incentive compensation programs using equity based incentives and/or traditional non-qualified deferred compensation components.
Rick has significant experience advising clients with regard to simple, complex, and customized executive compensation matters, stock options, restricted stock, non-qualified deferred compensation, equity-based incentives, or other synthetic equity programs. Rick has made a practice of customizing each plan or program to meet the unique needs and goals of the client’s business and the industry in which they operate. He has the legal and practical knowledge and experience necessary to get the right program for his clients.
Experience
Experience
Health Law
- Assisted numerous licensed professionals and entities in structuring health care arrangements and joint ventures in compliance with federal and state regulations
- Assisted numerous licensed professionals and entities in obtaining favorable resolutions to licensing investigations and mandatory reporting situations, including obtaining a reversal of a license revocation resulting from a change in ownership
- Assisted clients in obtaining favorable resolutions to provider issues related to participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including obtaining a reconsideration of the revocation of provider billing rights
- Assisted several clients (at both the entity level and individually) in navigating medical staff matters inclusive of the peer review process
- Assisted in obtaining settlement in excess of three-quarter million dollars in favor of the employer in a complex multistate litigation matter arising out of the violation of a noncompetition agreement by a former employee
- Assisted many healthcare clients preparing co-management arrangements, managed service organizations, accountable care organizations, and other ancillary business lines, all while navigating the complex state and federal regulatory environment
- Assisted a healthcare client through compliance with Corporate Integrity Agreement
- Assisted a client through internal audit process and self-referral protocol
- Assisted a client in negotiating a state-wide collective bargaining agreement in the health care industry
- Assisted numerous employers in obtaining no-reasonable cause determinations when defending against retaliation and discrimination based on gender, age, disability, and other protected classes
Executive Compensation
- Assisted numerous clients in various industries with analyzing and negotiating ownership, employment, and unique compensation structures
- Preparation of numerous traditional deferred compensation plans to provide future benefits to the loyal leadership team
- Preparation of dozens of customized equity-based or non-qualified deferred compensation programs designed to assist in the successful transition of business ownership to the management team or others
- Preparation of dozens of change of control bonus programs, typically resulting in the successful change of control and rewards to the owners and management team, well above expectations
- Worked with well-over 100 different clients in various industries to customize the right incentive plan for their management team and business
- Worked closely with numerous owners, advisors, and consultants in the IT and Healthcare staffing industries to provide customized incentive programs
- Successfully negotiated language in the incentive program for a senior executive team that helped the program survive a legal challenge worth multi-millions of dollars
News & Publications
Publications
Speaking Engagements
News
Honors & Affiliations
Honors & Awards
Chambers USA, Healthcare, 2017-2023
Omaha Magazine Top Lawyers of Omaha, Health Care Law, 2021
"AV" Rating, Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell
Nebraska State Bar Foundation, Fellow
Community & Professional
Nebraska, Iowa and Omaha Bar Associations
American Health Lawyers Association
Victory Riding Academy, Board of Directors (2021-Present)
Special Olympics Nebraska Board of Directors (2005-2014), Board Chairman (2007 and 2008)
Services
Education
J.D., Creighton University, 2002 (magna cum laude)
- Editor-in-Chief, Creighton Law Review, 2001-2002
- Editorial Staff, Creighton Law Review, 2000-2001
B.S., Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 1999 (with distinction)
- Business Administration, Major in Finance
- Golden Key National Honor Society
- Phi Kappa Phi
Admissions
- State of Nebraska
State of Iowa
U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska