The POWER List: Curt J. Chase

Husch Blackwell, Kansas City

Curt Chase is one of the relatively few attorneys who can say they started on the ground floor of a burgeoning practice area.

When he joined what was then Blackwell Sanders in 1995 — fresh from obtaining his law degree and a master’s in health administration from the University of Iowa, he became the first attorney hired out of law school by the firm to practice health care law.

In the years since then, increasing complexity in health care law has led to an explosive growth in the practice area at Husch Blackwell, which also has propelled Chase into the firm’s leadership ranks.

Today, Husch Blackwell has more than 110 attorneys on its Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education industry team, which Chase has led since 2013. Chase is also a partner at the firm.

His practice is national in scope. His clients benefit from his expertise in transactional law, including complex hospital/physician integration arrangements and mergers and acquisitions. He also counsels clients on regulatory and compliance issues.

Among his achievements: closing a $275 million transaction for his large hospital system client, giving his client full governance and operational control of a three-hospital health system in Denver, Colorado. In 2006, Missouri Lawyers Media honored him as an Up & Coming Attorney.