Healthcare Policy Duo Kristen O'Brien and Jeffrey Davis Join Holland & Knight in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 31, 2026) – Kristen O'Brien and Jeffrey Davis have joined Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office as partner and senior policy advisor, respectively, in the Firm's Federal Government Affairs Practice. The pair focuses on federal regulatory and advocacy efforts for large physician groups, trade associations, health systems and health information technology (IT) companies. They join from McDermott+, the consulting and lobbying affiliate of McDermott Will & Schulte, where Ms. O'Brien served as a principal and Mr. Davis served as a senior director.
"Holland & Knight has the largest healthcare practice in the U.S., which includes a top-notch advocacy team that we are pleased to strengthen with the addition of Kristen and Jeffrey. They bring sophisticated and well-established practices, as well as valuable relationships from across the healthcare industry," said Paul Stimers, leader of the Federal Government Affairs Practice. "Their experience before the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other federal healthcare agencies provides a meaningful platform for advising clients in an increasingly complex healthcare regulatory environment."
Ms. O'Brien has more than a decade of experience in healthcare policy, reimbursement and regulatory advocacy. She regularly drafts legislation, regulatory language, comment letters and policy advocacy materials, as well as advises healthcare executives and boards on federal healthcare policy developments, reimbursement matters and regulatory priorities. Ms. O'Brien also represents health systems before major healthcare organizations, including the American Hospital Association and American Medical Association, where she previously served as senior legislative counsel.
In addition to her policy practice, Ms. O'Brien provides counsel to corporate legal teams on healthcare regulatory and due diligence regarding mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other types of transactions.
"Holland & Knight has great depth across the healthcare, life sciences and government affairs sectors, as well as strong corporate and transactional capabilities. These features give clients a truly integrated resource that few firms can match," Ms. O'Brien said. "I look forward to joining and bringing value to this impressive team."
Ms. O'Brien received a J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. degree from Cornell University. She also studied at the London School of Economics. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Davis is a highly respected advisor with experience that spans nearly every level of the healthcare policy ecosystem. His experience includes advising healthcare organizations, health systems, associations and industry stakeholders on healthcare policy strategy, federal regulatory developments, reimbursement reform and legislative priorities affecting Medicare, Medicaid, the No Surprises Act and value-based care initiatives. He previously served as a director of regulatory and external affairs for the American College of Emergency Physicians and a senior program analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Outside his practice, Mr. Davis is also the primary author of the popular "Regs & Eggs" blog.
Mr. Davis received an M.A. degree from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a B.A. degree from Duke University.
Holland & Knight's Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Group, a cross-disciplinary team of more than 500 experienced attorneys, is the largest healthcare law practice in the United States, according to Modern Healthcare. The Firm's healthcare attorneys advise on matters ranging from business, regulatory compliance and real estate to litigation, government enforcement and public policy issues. Holland & Knight is recognized as a 2025 Health Care Practice Group of the Year by Law360; by Chambers USA in its 2025 Healthcare: The Elite nationwide listing; and was recently named the Global M&A Network's Healthcare Law Firm of the Year.