Lee Johnston
Partner
Overview
Lee Johnston is a corporate attorney in Holland & Knight's Nashville office. Mr. Johnston regularly represents sellers and private equity clients in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across healthcare, legal services and other industries.
Mr. Johnston advises clients on all aspects of M&A and other private equity matters, including platform structuring and governance, executive employment matters, and equity and convertible debt financings. He has extensive experience in structuring and implementing sophisticated management services organization (MSO) arrangements in the healthcare and legal services fields.
Mr. Johnston is known for his ability to navigate complex regulatory environments while maintaining commercial practicality. Drawing on his broad corporate law experience across multiple major markets, he efficiently anticipates and resolves issues before they become obstacles, keeping transactions on track. Clients value his responsiveness, strategic thinking and focus on achieving favorable outcomes.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Johnston practiced at a multinational law firm in its San Francisco office, focusing on M&A and strategic investments involving private equity investors, venture capital firms and corporate clients. He began his legal career in the New York and London offices of a major U.S. law firm, where he maintained a broad corporate practice, including M&A, syndicated lending and leveraged finance, capital markets and securities regulation.
Representative Experience
- Represented a nationwide pharmacy benefits management company in its sale to a private equity fund
- Represented LifeCare Home Health Family, a leading provider of skilled home health and private duty care, in connection with an investment by Zenyth Partners, an investment firm focused exclusively on building leading healthcare companies
- Represented Vista Verde Dental Partners, a dental services organization, in its sale of Britely Dentures & Implants, a leading provider of advanced full-arch dental implant solutions and high-quality dentures, to Reveal Dental Partners, a portfolio company of Lorient Capital
- Represented a national therapy staffing company in its equity recapitalization by a syndicate of private equity funds
- Represented a private equity-backed leading provider of infusion and injection therapy in its equity recapitalization by a private equity fund
- Represented Thriveworks, a leading provider of in-person and online mental health services nationwide backed by Regal Healthcare Capital Partners, in its acquisition of Synchronous Health, an innovative behavioral healthcare provider
- Represented Elite365 Healthcare Workforce Solutions, a healthcare staffing firm backed by Regal Healthcare Capital Partners, in its acquisitions of:
- Critical Connection, one of the nation's leaders in therapist placement and staffing solutions
- Kobor MedSearch, a healthcare staffing firm with more than 25 years of experience
- Proxi Dental Staffing, a Texas-based provider of dental staffing services
- Wilderness Medical Staffing, a provider of medical staffing services in rural and remote communities
- Focus Staff, a leading provider of travel nursing and allied health staffing solutions
- Represented a private equity sponsor in its investment into a legal services management services organization (MSO) supporting a leading personal injury law firm
- Represented a Washington, D.C., construction general contractor in its sale to a consortium of investors
Credentials
- Oxford University, Brasenose College, M.Sc., Law and Finance, with distinction
- University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
- Vanderbilt University, B.A., Political Science
- California
- New York
- Tennessee