Terri D. Keville

Partner

I have worked to earn long-term client relationships by being proactive and pragmatic.

Terri Keville focuses on helping her healthcare provider clients avoid and minimize healthcare operations problems and disputes, so they can reduce their legal risks and costs. When litigation cannot be avoided, Terri's litigation practice emphasizes case-dispositive motions and appeals.

Terri advises clients on the full range of medical staff matters, including credentialing; peer review; and medical staff bylaws, rules, and policies. Terri's practice also focuses on confidentiality of medical information (HIPAA and CMIA)—including for media clients dealing with healthcare content; consent, including end-of-life issues; emergency care requirements (EMTALA); and clinical research.

Terri has defended hospitals, medical staffs, and physician groups against claims by individual physicians for wrongful exclusion involving complex issues of alleged disability discrimination, substance abuse, peer-review duties and procedural rights, and the interplay of those elements with physician employment or partnership agreements. Terri has made new, favorable law for California healthcare organizations in cases involving physician peer review, Medicare and ERISA preemption, and California's Unfair Competition Law. In 2014, Best Lawyers named Terri Health Care Lawyer of the Year for Los Angeles.

Practice Highlights

Patient care

Advises hospital clients on complex peer-review issues, including dealing with impaired and disruptive practitioners; sexual harassment and sexual misconduct allegations against medical staff members; and clashes between medical groups and medical staff factions.

Bylaw and policy creation

Assists hospitals and their medical staffs with drafting and amending medical staff bylaws, rules and regulations, and policies to ensure they are effective and up-to-date.

Peer review

Serves as a hearing officer or legal advisor in peer review hearing proceedings for multiple healthcare providers.

Peer Review Litigation

Ellison v. Sequoia Health Services

Represented hospital board of directors in internal appellate review proceeding that led to termination of a medical staff physician for lying on his application; both the trial court and the court of appeal upheld the hospital board's decision. 183 Cal. App. 4th 1486 (2010)

Connor v. Long Beach Memorial Medical Center*

Obtained dismissal of physician's wrongful peer review lawsuit, and award of attorneys' fees, by prevailing on anti-SLAPP motion. (L.A. Cnty. (Cal.) Super. Ct. 2008)

Blau v. Northridge Hospital Medical Center*

Prevailed in mandamus action and on appeal by a physician challenging his exclusion from the hospital for disruptive behavior. (Cal. App. 1st Dist. Div. 5 2007)

Blau v. Catholic Healthcare West*

Obtained dismissal of physician's damages action for alleged wrongful exclusion from the defendant hospital, and affirmance on appeal, because the physician had failed to exhaust his internal administrative remedies. (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Div. 1 2003)

*Denotes an attorney's experience prior to joining Davis Wright Tremaine

Amicus Curiae Representation

Fahlen v. Sutter Central Valley Hospitals

Submitted amicus curiae brief to the California Supreme Court on behalf of three California hospital systems, on whether a physician who has been the subject of adverse action after a completed hospital peer review proceeding must exhaust his/her administrative mandamus remedies and prevail before the doctor can sue the hospital under California’s whistleblower statute for healthcare workers. (2014)

El-Attar v. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center

Submitted amicus curiae brief to the California Supreme Court on behalf of healthcare providers in high-profile case concerning the authority of hospital governing boards in peer review matters. The court decided in favor of the hospital, ruling that the hospital board was authorized to appoint the hearing officer and the judicial review committee. 56 Cal. 4th 976 (2013)

Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc.

Submitted amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of First Amendment rights of marketers and advertisers against Vermont statute requiring "opt-in" for any use of prescriber-identifiable data regarding prescription drug information. The Court held 6-3 that the state cannot restrict commercial speech for being too persuasive. Read the amicus brief. (U.S. 2011)

Mileikowsky v. West Hills Hospital Medical Center

Represented Catholic Healthcare West and Tenet Healthcare as amici curiae in support of West Hills Hospital in California Supreme Court case involving the authority of hearing officers in medical staff peer review hearings. 45 Cal. 4th 1259 (Cal. 2009)

Kibler v. Northern Inyo County Local Hospital District*

Represented Catholic Healthcare West and the Regents of the University of California as amici curiae in support of the hospital district in this California Supreme Court case involving applicability of California's anti-SLAPP law to hospital peer review proceedings; the Supreme Court cited our brief in its opinion holding that the anti-SLAPP statute does protect peer review. 39 Cal. 4th 192 (2006)

*Denotes an attorney's experience prior to joining Davis Wright Tremaine

Admitted to Practice

California
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

Education

J.D., University of Southern California Law School, 1992
- Order of the Coif
- Articles Editor, Southern California Law Review
Graduate Studies, Philosophy, California State University, Northridge, 1974
B.A., Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania, 1972

Memberships & Affiliations

- Vice Chair, Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health (SUDMH) Interest Group (previously Task Force), 2014; SUDMH Interest Group Liaison to Health Law Section Policy Committee, 2018-present; Member, Medical Legal Partnership Work Group, 2018-present – Health Law Section, American Bar Association
- Member; President, March 2004-March 2005 – California Society for Healthcare Attorneys
- Vice Chair, Oct. 2014-Sept. 2015; Member, Oct. 2011-Sept. 2015 – California State Bar Health Law Committee
- President, 2008-2012; Board of Directors, 2005-present – Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library
- Co-chair, Joint Committee on Biomedical Ethics, Los Angeles County Medical Association and Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Executive Committee, Appellate Courts Section; Past Member and Co-chair, Bioethics Committee, 2000-2002; Member, Healthcare Law Section – Los Angeles County Bar Association
- State Appellate Judicial Evaluation Committee, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 2019-2022
- Conflict Resolution and Clinical-Setting Mediation Certification, The Center for Conflict Resolution in Healthcare LLC
- American Health Lawyers Association
- Women in Health Administration Southern California
- California Public Protection and Physician Health, Attorney Advisory Group

Professional Recognition

- Named one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" by Chambers USA in Health Care (California), 2007-2024
- Selected by Best Lawyers as Los Angeles' "Lawyer of the Year" in Health Care, 2014
- Named one of the "Best Lawyers in America," in Health Law by Best Lawyers, 2007-present
- Selected to "Southern California Super Lawyers" by Thomson Reuters in Health Care, 2004-2022; in Appellate, 2004-2022; in Business Litigation, 2004-2022
- Named in Who's Who in America, 2006-present
- Named in Who's Who in American Law, 2005-2011
- Named in Who's Who of American Women, 2007, 2010