Criminal Defense &
Professional License Defense Attorney
for Colorado Healthcare Professionals
Attorney for Colorado Nurses, Pharmacists, Doctors, and more.
As a licensed healthcare professionals, you know that reckless practice mistakes will lead to discipline by their professional board. But the boards have the legal authority to scrutinize a wider range of concerns, big and small. Mental health diagnoses, small practice mistakes, criminal charges (even unrelated to work) and more can lead to dangerous encounters with professional licensing boards. Alongside board discipline lies a variety of regulatory traps via the DEA, FDA, CAPS, CDPHE, Medicaid/HCPF, the OIG of HHS, the US Attorney’s Office, private insurer credentialing, and more. A big case, or a small case that is handled poorly, can end a career. Healthcare professionals spend their lives helping others. In their most difficult moments, I help healthcare professionals.
As a licensed healthcare professional, you know that reckless practice mistakes will lead to discipline by your professional board– but the boards have the legal authority to scrutinize much more than that. Mental health diagnoses, small practice mistakes, or minor criminal charges (unrelated to work) can lead to dangerous encounters with professional licensing boards.
Alongside board discipline lie a variety of regulatory traps via the DEA, FDA, CAPS, CDPHE, Medicaid/HCPF, the OIG of HHS, the US Attorney’s Office, private insurer credentialing, and more. A big case, or a small case that is handled poorly, can end a career in a flash. You’ve built your life around your career, and you are proud of how you care for and protect others—but who protects you and your license?
Legal Services and Areas of Service
- Healthcare license defense and advisal -- Throughout Colorado.
- Criminal defense for licensed professionals -- Greater metro Denver area.
- To schedule a free phone consultation, email: matt@handlaw.com
- Criminal defense for licensed professionals -- Greater metro Denver area.
- Note: If you are working with a different criminal defense lawyer, I can advise you and your criminal lawyer on how to handle the criminal case to minimize license impacts, and then take over any disciplinary defense that results.
Include basic information about the allegations against you and the next deadline or court date. Including a copy of the complaint or charging document will help me respond promptly and productively.
My criminal defense practice primarily serves Colorado professionals licensed by DORA boards such as the Board of Nursing, Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy, Dental Board, and Board of Veterinary Medicine. I accept criminal cases that do not involve a healthcare license when I have availability.
About Us
Matt Hand is an honors grad of NYU Law, former criminal prosecutor, and experienced trial lawyer. I have tried and won the large majority of 50 jury trials as both a prosecutor and defender, and have handled hundreds of other hearings, from civil to administrative to criminal. I have defended countless licensed professionals, including nurses, doctors, nurses, dentists, therapists, and more. For healthcare professionals, criminal charges are often not as consequential as the corresponding disciplinary action against their license, and the factors that help or hurt their licenses can be counterintuitive.
Over the years, my practice evolved to focus on the special needs that healthcare professionals have when facing allegations of criminal or professional misconduct. I am not a nurse or a doctor, but I have extensive experience with DORA’s professional boards and the broader regulatory world that affects Colorado healthcare professionals—from OIG Medicare exclusion to Colorado Adult Protective Services findings, to DEA licenses, to Medicaid/HCPF credentialing, and much more.
Client Reviews
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Case Results
As a healthcare license defense lawyer, I have earned dismissals of cases involving allegations of drug diversion, patient abuse, patient neglect, theft, medication errors, practicing without a license, patient abandonment, HIPAA violations, fraud/deception, boundary violations, standard of care violations, and cases based on criminal violations away from work. For clients who have made clearer or bigger mistakes, I have fought to limit the damage to their professional license. The professional boards are powerful and often unreasonable– not every case works out well. But across every type of healthcare disciplinary allegation, I have had success getting the best possible outcome by thoroughly applying my specialized experience, and by truly caring about the outcome. I listen to my clients and fight for them.
As a criminal defense lawyer, I have won acquittals in jury trials involving charges of felony strangulation, misdemeanor assault, indecent exposure, DUI, theft, harassment, domestic violence, and more. I have fought for dismissals and improved plea deals for hundreds of clients across every manner and type of case, from sex assault to shoplifting to child abuse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check with an attorney about your specific situation. Many convictions require reporting, but most arrests do not require reporting unless they lead to a conviction. There are exceptions, though– an arrest of a pharmacist for charges related to controlled substances usually requires reporting within 72 hours. And some arrests will be reportable at the time of license renewal, even if the arrest did not lead to conviction. Usually, though, an arrest that did not lead to a conviction can be sealed, but it is important to do this before any reporting obligations are triggered. This is a delicate and technical issue, and you should retain an attorney before making a decision to either report, or not report, an arrest.
Every board is different, so you’ll need to check with an attorney about your specific situation. Most healthcare boards (Board of Nursing, Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy, etc.) require their licensees to self-report convictions for at least some crimes, usually within 30 days. And most boards define “conviction” to include any plea of guilty, including deferred judgments. But the rules (such as deadlines for the self-report) can differ depending on whether the conviction is a felony or a misdemeanor, whether the conviction involves controlled substances or relates to work, and more. These laws, regulations and policies can be somewhat complex, but the complexity increases further when evaluating whether a criminal conviction is going to lead to license discipline. Generally, there is more risk to licenses from convictions that relate to work, involve sexual misconduct, reveal drug or alcohol use disorders, or which generally call into question the character of the professional. Talk with a lawyer about your specific situation, though.
Generally, yes. Each board is different, with different statutes, regulations, and policies that affect their flexibility to resolve cases without public discipline. There are non-disciplinary, non-public “confidential letters of concern” that we can seek in a variety of situations. And there are some structured “alternative to discipline” agreements available in limited situations. But by law, most discipline is public, and healthcare license discipline is generally permanently public. Discipline will usually be findable on Colorado’s DORA website, as well as national resources such as the National Practitioner Data Bank.
I do work with professionals who have license defense insurance. However, insurance is not perfect. Insurance reimbursement rates are often lower than market rate for experienced attorneys, and some insurers will not make payment on a claim until the case is resolved—which can take months, sometimes longer than a year. As a result, I will still need a significant retainer from a client who has insurance. I will usually bill my full rate against that retainer, and the client will be responsible for getting reimbursed from insurance. I will help the client document the work performed, though, so that the insurer understands it is a valid claim. In some situations, I can bill the professional’s insurer directly, but that is the exception due to the above concerns. Email to set up a consultation if this is your concern.
Only rarely. I will sometimes accommodate partial payment plans if litigation (e.g., trial) becomes necessary, since litigation requires a much larger commitment of attorney time and is therefore more expensive. But most cases resolve without litigation, with my work frontloaded into the first 3-4 weeks after being retained. I usually set the retainer (the up-front deposit needed to begin work) as a rough estimate of how much that early surge of work will cost. In order to turn down other cases and commit myself to your defense, I need that retainer in full. I do accept both debit and credit cards.
That said, if work winds up exceeding the retainer, or if the scope of representation changes due to additional cases being filed against you, or collateral matters coming up, etc., I will try to find a way to continue working with you, even if you need some payment flexibility. I sometimes offer discounts for some professionals (e.g. CNA’s, LPN’s) when I have the capacity in my practice to do so. And I will often discount “extra” work that was unforeseeable when we began. In many cases, I can set a flat fee for the work, to take away most of the financial uncertainty involved in hiring me.
As both a prosecutor and defense lawyer, I have handled everything from shoplifting and traffic cases to sexual assault and homicides. But the bulk of my criminal defense practice involves assaults, domestic violence, and DUI’s. I predominantly help healthcare and other professionals whose criminal cases may have professional license impacts, though. My professional license defense practice is statewide, but my criminal practice is normally limited to courts within 45 minutes of Denver: Denver County, Jefferson County, Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Adams County, Broomfield County, Boulder County, Clear Creek County, and Gilpin County– as well as municipal courts. For licensed professionals who are outside of that range—I can help you find a great attorney to handle the criminal defense case wherever you are, and I can provide you with representation in defense of your license. (Most criminal defense lawyers do not handle professional license defense themselves). Whatever your situation, don’t hesitate to email me at matt@handlaw.com with info about your charges, the next court date and location. I will respond to schedule a consultation if I am available for your case, or to provide you a referral if I am unavailable.
To schedule a free phone consultation,
please email: matt@handlaw.com
Include your phone number and basic information about the allegations against you. For professional license cases, attaching a PDF of the complaint is best, but at least indicate what license you hold and any upcoming deadline. For criminal cases, indicate what charges you are facing, plus the next court date and location. I will respond promptly. All emails and consultation with me are confidential.