Denise Hanna is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP. Ms. Hanna has been involved in health care public policy and transactional matters for more than 20 years. She has represented health care payors and providers, pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies, third-party administrators, health and wellness companies, trade associations and other health care organizations in a range of transactional matters and in legislative, regulatory and administrative proceedings. Ms. Hanna has closely tracked the enactment of federal health care reform and now advises clients on implementation issues, compliance obligations and strategic opportunities under health reform.

Through her active involvement on the national health care scene, Ms. Hanna has a keen awareness of the most important issues that are shaping the health industry. She was chair of the National Bar Association’s Health Law Section during the 2009-2010 year. Ms. Hanna also participates in seminars across the country and was instrumental in organizing the NBA Health Law Section’s Health Care Law Summit in 2009 and 2010. Ms. Hanna is co-editor of the firm’s Health Care Reform Update.

Ms. Hanna received her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1986 and her B.A., with honors, from the University of Chicago in 1983.

Francis J. Aquila is partner in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwelll LLP. Mr. Aquila advises a broad range of companies, boards of directors and special committees with respect to corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, takeover defense, strategic alliances and related matters.

Mr. Aquila serves as a regular adviser to global leaders such as Amgen, Anheuser-Busch InBev, British Airways and Diageo. He was named “Dealmaker of the Year” in 2009 by The American Lawyer, as a “Leading Lawyer” in the IFLR1000, and as a recipient of the Atlas Award as the “Global M&A Lawyer of the Year” in 2010.

Mr. Aquila received his J.D. in 1983 from Brooklyn Law School and his A.B. from Columbia University in 1983.

Leigh Walton joined Bass, Berry & Sims PLC in May of 1979, and was named a member of the firm in 1984. Ms. Walton is a former co-chair of the firm’s Healthcare Practice Group and is also active in corporate and securities law matters. Her work with public companies includes securities, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters. For health care clients, she assists in the acquisition of hospital systems, structures hospital syndications and joint ventures and coordinates financing transactions. She led the firm’s health care regulatory team when Bass, Berry & Sims PLC represented HCA Inc. in its 2006 sale to a consortium of private equity buyers.

Ms. Walton is active in the American, Tennessee and Nashville Bar Associations, serving as chair of the ABA’s Mergers and Acquisitions Committee and as a member of the ABA’s Corporate Practice Committee. She lectures annually at the ABA’s Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Institute, at the Northwestern University School of Law’s Securities Regulation Institute, and participates regularly in other seminars and programs on health care, corporate and securities law matters. Ms. Walton served as co-chair of the Tennessee Corporate Law Revision Committee, which drafted the Tennessee Business Corporation Act. She was a lecturer at Vanderbilt University Law School from 1980 to 1987. She is a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and serves as co-chair of the Transactions Affinity Group of the American Health Lawyers Association Business Law and Governance Practice Group. She is a member of the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency of Metropolitan Davidson County.

Ms. Walton is listed in The International Who’s Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers, The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, Who’s Who in American Law, Mid-South Super Lawyers 2006, The Best Lawyers in America® (Nashville Securities Lawyer of the Year for 2010), Lawdragon 500, Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon 500 Dealmakers and Chambers USA. She has also been listed in the Nashville Business Journal’s Healthcare 100 and Best of the Bar and Nashville Post’s “Nashville’s 101 Top Lawyers” in 2011.

Ms. Walton received a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Va., and her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she was a member of Order of the Coif and the National Moot Court Team.

Mark L. Francis is a managing director in Houlihan Lokey’s Dallas office, where he heads the Health Care Group. He has nearly two decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions and financial operations in the health care industry, and he has managed a wide variety of projects, from acquisitions, divestitures, financings and financial restructurings to joint ventures and strategic-alliance formation.

Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Francis directed a national team of acquisition professionals as vice president of M&A for the home health division of HCA. He speaks frequently on mergers and acquisitions and finance in the health care industry.

Mr. Francis earned a B.B.A. in finance from Baylor University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is registered with FINRA as a General Securities Principal (Series 7, 24 and 63) and a Limited Representative – Investment Banking (Series 79).

Robert T. Harper is a shareholder in the Pittsburgh office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. Mr. Harper represents for-profit and nonprofit entities in acquisition transactions, general business and corporate matters. In business affairs, he counsels corporations, boards and other entities in acquisitions, sales, financings and reorganizations. He also advises hospitals, health maintenance organizations, managed care entities and other providers in a variety of health care matters. He serves as co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Section.

Mr. Harper has been listed for 10 consecutive years in The Best Lawyers in America for Corporate Law and Health Law. Since 2006, he has been consistently selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list. In 2010 he was named “Pittsburgh Health Care Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers.

Mr. Harper received his J.D. from Duke University in 1979 and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Duke University in 1976.