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FranCiardullo

She | Her | Hers

Special Counsel

"I find it deeply satisfying when I'm able to assist health care providers in finding solutions to their legal risk-management issues."

Overview

Biography

Fran primarily concentrates her practice on health care and risk-management issues. She routinely counsels physicians, physician groups, dentists, hospitals and health systems, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and other providers on matters involving professional misconduct, professional liability, medical-staff issues, scope of practice, mandated reporting, peer review, and regulatory compliance. Fran also handles consent for treatment and surrogate decision making, patient care, EMTALA, and health-information privacy issues.

A former Town of Schroeppel town justice, Fran is also trained in alternative dispute resolution and has mediated and arbitrated a variety of civil actions and disputes. She routinely publishes industry articles and presents educational programs on legal matters to hospitals, medical and dental practices, and trade associations.

Bar Associations

  • American Bar Association, Health Law Section
  • New York State Bar Association, Health Law Section
  • Onondaga County Bar Association, Former Director, Health Law Section Member
  • Central New York Women’s Bar Association, Former President

Selected Memberships & Affiliations

  • Barclay Damon’s Women’s Forum
  • Central New York Healthcare Business Alliance, Member
Experience

Representative Experience

  • Served as counsel to the largest writer of professional-liability insurance in New York State, providing legal risk-management services for insured physicians, dentists, hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities.
  • Served as defense counsel in Balaklaw v. Lovell, a federal Second Circuit case involving the grant of an exclusive contract by a hospital to an anesthesia group. The case is now widely cited in health care antitrust litigation as an example of the principle of antitrust injuries.
  • Represented CNY hospitals in disputes involving medical staff membership and corrective action under the medical staff bylaws.
  • Provided risk-management services to MLMIC-insured hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, surgery centers, physicians, and dentists. Also provided legal guidance to facilities and professionals on a wide range of organizational and patient care issues, including HIPAA and the disclosure of medical information under NY law, EMTALA, peer review, consent for treatment, professional liability, patient discharge/abandonment questions, and the scope of practice.

Prior Experience

  • Fager Amsler Keller & Schoppmann, LLP, Counsel
  • Costello, Cooney & Fearon, LLP, Partner
  • Town Justice, Town of Schroeppel

Selected Community Activities

  • Menorah Park of CNY, Inc., Board of Directors, President
  • NYS Office of Court Administration, Former Senior Faculty Instructor for Town and Village Justice Training Programs
  • The New School for Social Research, Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, Former Health Care Administration Faculty Member
  • SUNY Health Science Center Medical Humanities Program, Former Lecturer
  • Syracuse University College of Law, Board of Visitors Member and Former Health Law Adjunct

Selected Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Syracuse "Lawyer of the Year": Health Care Law, 2025
  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Health Care Law, 2022–2023, 2025
  • Jewish Federation of Central New York, Esther and Joseph Roth Award in Recognition of Outstanding Jewish Community Leadership, 2023
  • NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct, Appointed by Former Chief Justice Judith Kaye as Vice Chair, 2001–2004
Knowledge

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • LeadingAge New York Annual Conference & Exposition, "Getting Paid: Best Practices to Avoid Nonpayment"
  • New York Medical Group Management Association Annual Conference, "2022 Legal Update"
  • Buffalo Niagara Dental Meeting, "Legal Pitfalls in the Modern Dental Practice"
  • Empire State Association of Assisted Living 39th Annual Conference and Trade Show, "Accommodation of Disabilities and Language Interpreters"
  • New York Medical Group Management Association, "The New Information Blocking Rule: What Providers Need to Know" Webinar

Selected Media

Selected Alerts & Blog Posts

Featured Media

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several "Tester" Plaintiffs—Zayzay Howard, Carlos Gonzalez, Waleska Pena, Luis Compres, Carlos Moreno, Nersi Nin Vasquez, and Shivan Bassaw—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Lawsuits

Alerts

NYS Court of Appeals: No Municipal Immunity for a Town Employee Involved in an Accident but Not Engaged in Work

Alerts

Massachusetts Passes Climate Bill Accelerating Siting and Permitting for Clean Energy Projects

Alerts

Make It a Double: Amendment to New York State's ABC Law Extends Temporary Permits to Sell Alcoholic Beverages for Liquor License Applicants from 90 to 180 Days

Alerts

New York's New Pharmacy Regulations: Major Win for Independent Pharmacies and Consumers

Alerts

Second Circuit Upholds New York State's Ivory Law, but Holds Display Restriction Unconstitutional

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