Three County News will be providing articles on Ballad Health from Charles Ashley Hill. The information in this article has been verified as true and accurate in regard to the facts presented here. Any conclusions from the facts are the view of Charles Ashley Hill. Charles Ashley Hill filed a lawsuit against Ballad Health in December. Three County News wants to thank Mr. Hill for letting the public know the facts about Ballad Health.
EXPOSED: TWO LAW FIRMS THAT REPRESENTED WELLMONT
NOW CONTROL BAR ADMISSION AND DISCIPLINE IN TENNESSEE
Hunter Smith & Davis and Wilson Worley PC: The Legal Monopoly Behind Ballad Health
Public records reveal attorneys from both firms hold positions on Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility and Board of Law Examiners — creating structural barrier to litigation against regional healthcare monopoly
KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE — A review of public records has revealed that two law firms which represented Wellmont Health System — one of the hospital systems that merged to create Ballad Health — now have attorneys holding key positions on Tennessee’s legal regulatory bodies. This structural arrangement creates what legal ethics experts would recognize as an imputed conflict affecting every attorney at both firms, and raises serious questions about access to justice for patients seeking to litigate against the regional healthcare monopoly.
THE TWO FIRMS
HUNTER SMITH & DAVIS, LLP
• 27 attorneys — oldest and largest law firm in Kingsport (founded 1916)
• MARTINDALE-HUBBELL LISTING: Lists “WELLMONT HEALTH SYSTEM (Bristol Regional Medical Center / Holston Valley Medical Center / Lonesome Pine Hospital)” as representative client
• Firm website states they “drafted Kingsport’s city charter” and represent “health, education and housing boards” for 110+ years
WILSON WORLEY PC
• MARTINDALE-HUBBELL LISTING: Lists WELLMONT HEALTH SYSTEM as representative client
• Multi-attorney firm serving Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia
ATTORNEYS CONTROLLING LEGAL REGULATION
From Hunter Smith & Davis:
JIMMIE CARPENTER MILLER
• 2018-2019 CHAIR — Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (appointed by Tennessee Supreme Court)
• PAST PRESIDENT — Tennessee Board of Law Examiners
• Current partner at Hunter Smith & Davis
• “Routinely defends medical malpractice cases for hospitals, physicians, nursing homes”
• Source: Hunter Smith & Davis website, Super Lawyers profile, Tennessee Bar Association
JULIE BENNETT (now Ballad Health Chief Legal Officer)
• 15 years as partner at Hunter Smith & Davis
• Vice-Chair of WELLMONT BOARD during June 2017 (relevant period)
• Licensed in Tennessee, Virginia, AND Georgia
• Source: Ballad Health website
From Wilson Worley PC:
ANDREW WAMPLER (now Ballad Health General Counsel)
• Disciplinary Hearing Officer — Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility
• Assistant Examiner — Tennessee Board of Law Examiners
• 20 years as President and Shareholder at Wilson Worley PC
• Still listed as “Of Counsel” at Wilson Worley
• Licensed in Tennessee AND Virginia
• Source: Ballad Health website, Wilson Worley Martindale-Hubbell listing
THE IMPUTATION PROBLEM: RULE 1.10
Under Rule 1.10 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, when one lawyer at a firm has a conflict of interest, that conflict is imputed to every lawyer at the firm. This means:
• If Hunter Smith & Davis represented Wellmont, ALL 27 ATTORNEYS at the firm have a former-client conflict regarding Wellmont/Ballad matters
• If Wilson Worley represented Wellmont, ALL ATTORNEYS at that firm have the same imputed conflict
• Attorneys from BOTH firms now hold positions that determine who gets admitted to the bar and who gets disciplined
The practical effect: An attorney considering litigation against Ballad Health knows that the opposing counsel’s colleagues control bar admission and discipline. This creates a structural chilling effect on adversarial representation.
SUMMARY: WHO CONTROLS WHAT
BAR DISCIPLINE (Board of Professional Responsibility):
• Jimmie Miller (Hunter Smith & Davis) — FORMER CHAIR
• Andrew Wampler (Wilson Worley → Ballad) — Disciplinary Hearing Officer
BAR ADMISSION (Board of Law Examiners):
• Jimmie Miller (Hunter Smith & Davis) — PAST PRESIDENT
• Andrew Wampler (Wilson Worley → Ballad) — Assistant Examiner
BALLAD HEALTH LEGAL TEAM:
• Julie Bennett — Chief Legal Officer (15 years at Hunter Smith & Davis, Wellmont Board Vice-Chair)
• Andrew Wampler — General Counsel (20 years at Wilson Worley)
BOTH FIRMS’ PRIOR CLIENT:
• Wellmont Health System (per Martindale-Hubbell listings)
CONTEXT: THE BALLAD HEALTH MONOPOLY
Ballad Health was created in 2018 through a state-sanctioned merger of Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System under a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA). The merger was opposed by the Federal Trade Commission, which stated that COPAs “only exist to protect a merger that would otherwise be illegal under antitrust law.”
Additional documented concerns (KFF Health News, September 2023):
• Failed to meet 80% of COPA quality benchmarks
• $148 million shortfall in charity care obligations over four years
• Tennessee lowered passing score from 85 to 70 after repeated failures
• CEO Alan Levine’s salary: $4.3 million (doubled from pre-merger)
• Previously defended Health Management Associates on 60 Minutes (December 2012) before HMA paid $260 million DOJ settlement
PENDING LITIGATION
Motions to disqualify counsel have been filed in both Tennessee and Virginia courts, citing these documented conflicts of interest. The motions argue that Ballad Health should be required to retain outside counsel with no ties to the region’s legal and medical infrastructure.
QUESTIONS FOR INVESTIGATION
• How many malpractice cases against Ballad Health have been filed since the 2018 merger?
• How many attorneys have declined representation against Ballad, and why?
• What is the success rate of medical malpractice claims against Ballad compared to pre-merger rates?
• Should attorneys with regulatory authority over the bar be permitted to serve as in-house counsel for major litigation targets?
• What recourse do patients have when the legal system itself has structural conflicts?
SOURCES (All Public Record)
• Hunter Smith & Davis — Martindale-Hubbell listing (representative clients)
• Wilson Worley PC — Martindale-Hubbell listing (representative clients)
• Jimmie Miller — Hunter Smith & Davis website, Super Lawyers, Tennessee Bar Association
• Andrew Wampler — Ballad Health website
• Julie Bennett — Ballad Health website
• KFF Health News — “A State-Sanctioned Monopoly” (September 2023)
• US Department of Justice — HMA $260 Million Settlement (September 25, 2018)
• 60 Minutes — “Hospitals: The Cost of Admission” (December 2, 2012)
• Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct — Rule 1.10 (Imputation)
Charles Ashley Hill
