MICHAEL L. BLAU is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP in Boston, where he is the chair of the health care venture practice and a member of the emerging technologies, private equity, and venture capital practices and the health care industry team. Mr. Blau’s practice focuses on advising clients on corporate and regulatory matters, including mergers, acquisitions and affiliations, contracting, and forming provider groups, networks, alliances, and joint ventures. Prior to joining Foley & Lardner, Mr. Blau was partner-in-charge of the health law department in the Boston office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP. In 2006, Mr. Blau received a #1 ranking in healthcare by Chambers USA. He also was named a 2006 Massachusetts Super Lawyer, an honor received by only 5% of Massachusetts attorneys. In 2005 and 2006, Mr. Blau was recognized as one of the top ten health attorneys in the country in his specialty by Nightingale's Healthcare News. A frequent lecturer and writer on health law topics, Mr. Blau coauthored a book entitled Complying with Stark Physician Self-Referral Rules (Atlantic Information Services) and a McDermott Will & Emery white paper entitled Encouraging a Responsible Approach to Consumer-Driven Health Care. He also coauthored Developing and Managing Physician Networks (Thompson Publishing). His articles have appeared in numerous health law publications. Mr. Blau formerly served as executive editor of the ABA publication The Tax Lawyer, chaired the editorial advisory board of The PPM Profitability Update (Fulcrum Information Services), served as a contributing legal editor for Physician's News Digest and E-Healthcare Connections, and has been a member of the editorial board of the Boston Bar Journal, The Managed Care Payment Advisor (Aspen Publishing), Surgical Malpractice Prevention Reporter (American Health Consultants), and Journal of Healthcare Safety, Compliance & Infection Control (Prime National Publishing Corporation). Mr. Blau received his J.D. (cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979 and received his A.B. (magna cum laude) from Harvard College in 1976. (May 2007)