Contact Information

555 Capitol Mall 9th Floor

Sacramento CA 95814

916.325.5860

mdryden@mhalaw.com

Practice Focus

Managed Care Litigation

Maria Fonseca Dryden | Attorney

Professional Experience

Maria Fonseca Dryden joined McDonough Holland & Allen PC in 2006 as a member of the firm’s health care practice group. She specializes in health and managed care litigation and handles regulatory disputes through administrative dispute resolution procedures. Prior to joining the firm, Maria was a civil litigation associate with a Sacramento firm, specializing in health care and business litigation. She served as general counsel to the Center for AIDS Research and Education Services (CARES) and represented hospitals, health systems and health care providers in reimbursements, contracts and other business disputes. Maria also is an arbitrator for the American Health Lawyers Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Service.

Maria served as an Adjunct Teaching Professor for the Appellate Advocacy Program at the McGeorge School of Law.

Prior Experience

Represented hospitals, health systems and physicians in contract, shareholder and other business disputes, including trauma unit charges, fraud, unfair competition, case rate disputes and level of care charges.

Represented hospitals in managed care disputes involving neonatal intensive care unit charges, coding issues, stop loss calculations, comparative pricing and carve out disputes that resulted in multimillion dollar recoveries and settlements for clients in the health care industry.

Represented health care provider in lengthy litigation against the California Department of Corrections involving claims for medical services resulting in a multimillion dollar settlement in the client’s favor.

Successfully briefed and argued construction matter before the California Court of Appeal, Fifth District.

Presentations/Publications

Presenter, “Compliance Hot Topic: Update on Prompt Payment Legislation,” Health Financial Management Association Spring Conference, March 2008

Author, “The Final Enforcement Rule: The Department’s Approach to HIPAA Compliance,” HFMA Newsletter, 2006

Leadership Positions/Affiliations

Member, State Bar of California

Member, American Bar Association

Member, American Health Lawyers Association

Co-Chair, Healthcare Financial Management Association StrategicPlanning Committee

Member, Women Lawyers of Sacramento

Member, Sacramento County Bar Association

Clerkships

Law Clerk for the Honorable Jane Dickson McKeag (Ret.), U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Californi

Honors/Awards

Top Oral Advocate, McGeorge Appellate Advocacy Program, 1999

American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence, Legal Process

Witkin Awards for Excellence, Evidence, Advanced Torts

Diana P. Scott Prize, Appellate Advocacy Program

MHALaw Search

Admitted to Practice

State Bar of California, 2001

Education

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law

J.D., with Great Distinction, 2001

Order of the Coif

Order of the Barristers

Traynor Honor Society

University of California, Santa Barbara

B.A., Liberal Arts, conentration in Economics, 1985