backWASHINGTON, D.C., January 26, 2026 – King & Spalding announced today that it has added a group of five partners to its Healthcare practice. The group includes partners Rachel Gilbert, Cat Kirkland and Renee Rayne, who are leaders in the development of Medicaid financing arrangements for hospitals and health systems, and partners Jim Gilliam and John Connell, who focus on commercial healthcare care litigation.
“This group brings us new capabilities in the complex field of Medicaid financing and provides an excellent complement to our existing Medicare litigation practice,” said Mark Polston, co-leader of the firm’s Life Sciences and Healthcare industry team. “Adding Rachel, Cat, Renee, Jim and John to our team allows us to serve our hospital and health system clients on the complex Medicaid financing arrangements that are critical to their financial health while expanding the scale of our leading managed care litigation capabilities.”
The group joins the firm from Burr & Forman.
“King & Spalding has an elite national healthcare practice that will provide the springboard we need to expand how we can guide hospitals and health systems through the complex Medicaid financing arrangements and commercial and insurance disputes crucial to their successful operations,” said Gilbert. “We are very excited about where we can take our practices on King & Spalding’s platform.”
Rachel Gilbert
Gilbert’s practice focuses on advising hospitals in reimbursement, regulatory, legislative, and operational business matters. She works on behalf of her clients in collaboration with industry and government stakeholders to design, implement, and finance Medicaid supplemental reimbursement programs, including Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital programs, waiver programs, and state directed payment programs. Additionally, Gilbert represents hospitals in complex payment and contract disputes. She has represented numerous providers in disputes with Medicare Advantage plans and Medicaid managed care organizations, on issues ranging from underpayments, overpayments, denials, slow-pays, and compliance with federal and state regulatory requirements. She has also represented providers under investigation by state and federal agencies for issues ranging from False Claims Act violations, violation of the federal IMD exclusion, and other billing and reimbursement related audits and allegations. She earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, her LL.M. from the University of Edinburgh Law School, with distinction, and her B.A. from North Carolina State University, summa cum laude.
Cat Kirkland
Kirkland works closely with hospitals, providers and related stakeholders on reimbursement issues, policy development, financial modeling and business operations. Her reimbursement experience includes advising clients on state-directed payment initiatives, Medicaid rate modeling, program financing, disproportionate share hospital (DSH) programs, upper payment limit (UPL) arrangements and value-based or incentive-driven payment models. She also regularly counsels providers in reimbursement disputes with commercial and Medicare Advantage payors, including those involving the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Kirkland earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, and her B.J. and B.A., with special honors, from the University of Texas at Austin.
Jim Gilliam
Gilliam’s practice is focused on healthcare litigation. His capabilities include commercial and government managed care, complex business litigation, arbitration, mediation, class/collective actions, investigations, and appellate advocacy. Gilliam represents healthcare providers in a variety of business disputes, on issues ranging from government and commercial reimbursement, misappropriation of hospital proprietary information, and post-M&A disputes. He also represents healthcare providers in government investigations, including allegations of Medicaid and Medicare billing fraud and federal/state compliance audits. He earned his J.D. from the Charleston School of Law, magna cum laude, and his B.A. from Newberry College, magna cum laude with Summerland Honors.
John Connell
Connell advises hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, and other healthcare industry organizations on reimbursement disputes with health plans and compliance obligations related to participation in government health programs. He regularly represents hospitals and health systems in payment litigation, arbitrations, as well as in government investigation, including False Claims Act investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice. In particular, Connell handles claims against health insurance plans, including Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial reimbursement disputes and other breach of contract claims. He earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and his B.S. from the University of South Carolina, cum laude.
Renee Rayne
Rayne represents public hospitals, private hospitals and physician groups in regulatory compliance and transactional matters, particularly related to participation in federal and state reimbursement programs. She advises hospital systems across a wide-range of regulatory compliance and reimbursement matters, including compliance with the Stark Law, federal and state anti-kickback statutes, HIPAA, compliance issues related to participation in Medicaid and Medicare programs, regulatory audits and appeals, along with other related regulatory requirements. Additionally, she has assisted in the development, implementation, and operation of new Medicaid reimbursement programs in several states, including managed care directed payment programs and Upper Payment Limit (UPL) programs. Rayne earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, with honors, and her B.A. from Vanderbilt University, cum laude.
About King & Spalding
King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,300 lawyers in 26 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.
Media Contact:
Timothy Vaughn
tvaughn@kslaw.com
+1 212 827 4032