CHICAGO — June 22, 2026
Key takeaways
- Mary Waller joins BakerHostetler in Chicago as a partner in the firm’s Business Practice Group and a member of its Healthcare team.
- Waller’s practice focuses on healthcare transactions involving hospitals, health systems and academic medical centers, as well as private equity investors in the sector.
- She joins from an AmLaw 20 firm and brings a healthcare practice that includes both provider-side transactions and private equity-backed deals.
Why this matters
Waller’s arrival further strengthens BakerHostetler’s capabilities in healthcare transactions, including for both health systems and private equity sponsors. She advises academic medical centers and universities, health systems, hospitals and other healthcare providers, as well as private equity firms and their portfolio companies, on complex transactional and regulatory matters. Waller’s practice spans mergers and acquisitions, affiliations, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and physician practice management arrangements, with strength in both hospital- and private equity-backed deals.
Key quote
“Mary brings a rare combination of sophisticated transactional experience and deep insight into the healthcare industry, particularly in the academic medical center and health system space. Her ability to navigate complex deals while delivering practical corporate and regulatory guidance makes her an outstanding addition to our team and a tremendous asset to our clients,” said John Allotta, chair of BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group.
About Waller’s practice
Waller focuses her practice on advising academic medical centers and universities, health systems, hospitals and other healthcare providers on complex transactional and regulatory matters. She has extensive experience with M&A, strategic affiliations, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and physician practice management arrangements, with an emphasis on academic medical center/health system growth strategies and health system/physician alignment.
She also represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies in healthcare transactions, including platform investments, divestitures and physician practice management arrangements. This hybrid practice gives her experience advising on both hospital- and private equity-backed deals across the healthcare sector.
Waller delivers practical, nuanced corporate and regulatory guidance to healthcare clients navigating complex compliance landscapes, including facility licensing, reimbursement and corporate practice of medicine considerations. Her integrated approach helps clients address the legal, operational and business challenges that arise in today’s evolving healthcare environment.
Waller received her J.D. from the University of Michigan and her B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Key quote
“Mary is a fantastic addition to our Chicago office and further strengthens our presence in one of the country’s most dynamic healthcare markets. She brings an impressive combination of transactional skill and industry insight, and we’re excited to welcome her to our collaborative team advising leading healthcare organizations across the country,” said Leif Sigmond, partner-in-charge of the Chicago office.
BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group handles thousands of corporate transactions each year. The full-service team, consisting of more than 280 business attorneys in offices across the U.S., has extensive experience closing a wide variety of transactions, including M&A, private equity, real estate, debt finance, capital markets and securities, healthcare and regulatory, restructuring and bankruptcy, emerging companies and venture capital, commercial transactions and other matters central to a company’s success. A national group with global reach, BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group is consistently named a go-to firm by both Chambers USA and The Legal 500. For more information, visit bakerlaw.com/services/business/. Connect with us on LinkedIn at @BakerHostetler, @JohnAllotta, @LeifSigmond and @MaryWaller or on the social platform X at @BakerHostetler.
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About BakerHostetler
BakerHostetler helps clients around the world address their most complex and critical business and regulatory issues. Our highly ranked attorneys deliver sophisticated counsel and outstanding client service. We have six core practice groups — Business, Digital Assets and Data Management, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Litigation, and Tax — and more than 1,000 attorneys coast to coast. For more information, visit bakerlaw.com.
