Attorneys Joan M. Lebow, J.D. Melinda S. Malecki, J.D. Elizabeth A. Birt, J.D. Martin A. Blumenthal,    C.P.A, J.D. Trelisha M. Brown, M.S.,    J.D. Glen D. Crick, J.D. Linda L. McCarty J.D. Lynn S. McGivern, J.D.,    LL.M Suzanne E. Ritzler J.D., C.P.A. Geraldine S. Stroka, R.N.,    M.S.N., J.D. Martin D. Tasch, J.D. Barbara A. Weiner, J.D.

Elizabeth A. Birt, J.D.

Ms. Birt is a healthcare attorney with eleven years of corporate and regulatory experience. Prior to joining Lebow and Malecki, L.L.C., Ms. Birt served as an Attorney for the Committee on Government Reform, United States House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. She conducted extensive research and investigation into health care issues affecting the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and co-authored a Congressional Staff Report: "Mercury in Medicines-Taking Unnecessary Risks" published in the Congressional Record in May of 2003..

As an associate with the law firm of Ross & Hardies, she concentrated on clinical provider issues within the Health Care Department. During this time, she focused primarily on transactional issues for clinical service companies and technology companies, such as the sale and purchase of medical practices, regulatory issues affecting Medicare audits, tax planning issues for not for profit and for profit corporations, employee benefit issues and managed care contracting.

Ms. Birt started her legal career as an Assistant General Counsel to Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center. While at Rush, she handled negotiation of key affiliation agreements and provided legal guidance in contract disputes; her overall focus on healthcare tax and business regulation was applied throughout the Rush organization. Ms. Birt also served as General Counsel to ArcVentures, a wholly owned for profit subsidiary of Rush. She transitioned the company to a limited liability company, handled the sale of several business units and provided day to day legal guidance to executives and managers on all aspects of operations.

Prior to graduation from De Paul University School of Law in 1992, Ms. Birt held executive positions in the insurance industry focusing on self funded employer health reinsurance and group health insurance. She obtained a Certified Life Underwriter designation in 1989 and an L.L.M. in Taxation from DePaul University Law School in 2000.

Ms. Birt is the parent of a special needs child and has founded a not for profit organization, Medical Interventions for Autism, to fund medical research into the causes and potential treatments for this disorder. She is a frequent speaker at autism symposiums and a contributing writer to Mothering Magazine.