After the COVID-19 pandemic began, four health care lawyers in Houston decided the time was right to leave Big Law and join their entrepreneurial clients, so they launched Nichols Brar Weitzner & Thomas to focus on work for health care clients.

Like restructuring, labor and employment or insurance, health care law is one of several practices that have been extremely busy since the coronavirus started spreading in the United States. And the virus' impact on providers and other clients in the health care space led to the formation of the new firm.

Partners Scott Nichols, Marissa Weitzner and Zach Thomas all departed Clark Hill in Houston to form Nichols Brar in late May. Kip Brar, managing partner of Nichols Brar, had been a partner in Seyfarth Shaw's Houston office, but he formerly practiced with the others at Strasburger & Price before it merged with Clark Hill in 2018.

"COVID hit and we all looked up and looked at each other and thought, 'Oh my goodness, what is the future going to look like for us and our clients in this environment?'" Nichols said. "We saw this as opportunity to step into their space and become entrepreneurs ourselves."

The lawyers do litigation, transactional and regulatory work for their clients, which include physician groups, surgery centers, hospitals, imaging centers, diagnostic centers, labs and pharmacies. Nichols and Weitzner declined to identify clients.

Weitzner said they are busy with traditional work for their clients—reimbursements, investigations and litigation are a big part of their practice—but also guiding them on how government orders would affect their operations. One example is advising clients on how a recent order from Gov. Greg Abbott that bars elective surgeries in hospitals in certain Texas counties would affect their operations, she said.

"They are really relying on us for accurate counsel," she said.

Weitzner had been senior counsel at Clark Hill, but before that was chief legal officer and chief strategy officer for Nobilis Health Corp. in Houston.

While the firm's niche is health care, the lawyers have also done work in the energy, manufacturing and maritime sectors.

Nichols said they plan to grow the firm, and have already hired Clark Hill associate Greg Flores as an associate.

The firm launched on May 21, although the partners just announced it in July.

When asked for a comment on the departures, a representative for Clark Hill wrote, "We wish them well in their new endeavor."

Mark Coffin, the partner-in-charge for Seyfarth in Houston, wrote this about Brar: "Kip is an esteemed colleague and a very talented attorney. We wish Kip and his new colleagues the greatest success."