Dentons, the global law firm, today named Edward T. Laborde Jr. as partner and Raymond Sczudlo as senior counsel. Both lawyers are former general counsels and will expand the Firm’s Health Care practice while providing sophisticated transactional advice to senior leadership teams across the health care industry.

Laborde was previously general counsel and secretary of University General Health System, Inc., which was a diversified, integrated, multi-specialty health services company with acute care hospitals, senior living facilities, surgery centers and other outpatient centers, and specialized management companies, and will be resident in Dentons’ Houston office. Sczudlo was previously executive vice president and chief legal officer of the Children’s National Medical Center and will be resident in Dentons’ Washington DC office.

“The GC perspective that Ed and Ray each bring will be a tremendous asset for our clients as they turn to our Health Care practice for critical advice on navigating the dynamic legal and regulatory landscape facing health care providers,” said Mike McNamara, US managing partner of Dentons.

As general counsel and secretary of University General Health System, Inc. Laborde managed complex legal and business issues across the full spectrum of the company’s operations, including acquisitions and divestitures, debt and equity financings, physician alignment strategies, corporate compliance, regulatory affairs and litigation management. Laborde also led the chapter 11 restructuring of the publicly-owned health services provider. He is an experienced corporate, securities and finance lawyer who has worked on transactional matters including mergers and acquisitions, registered public securities offerings, private placements of equity and debt securities (including venture capital and early-stage financings), SEC compliance, corporate governance, planning and organizational matters in a variety of industries.

Laborde received his JD from Tulane University Law School and earned a BS from Georgetown University.

Sczudlo was the longtime executive vice president and chief legal officer of the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, a leading pediatric medical institution with an annual operating budget in excess of $1 billion. In this role he was responsible for all aspects of legal affairs, including safety and risk management, litigation, intellectual property, contracts, financings, joint ventures, leases, operating agreements, insurance, compliance, internal audits and corporate governance.

Sczudlo received a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center and graduated from the University of Detroit with a B.Ch.E. in chemical engineering.

Laborde and Sczudlo join a sizeable group of prominent former General Counsels at Dentons who focus on providing advice to leadership teams, boards and general counsel on strategic issues. These include Rick Palmore, who served as General Counsel at General Mills and previously Sara Lee; Gail Lione, who served as General Counsel at Harley-Davidson and U.S. News & World Report and its affiliates; and Bill Ide, who was General Counsel at Monsanto.

www.dentons.com