When you need a specialist
Ask prospective counsel how your state’s corporate-practice-of-dentistry rules affect the agreement stack. A lawyer who starts with a general commercial-services template may produce an enforceable contract that still documents impermissible lay control. That was the problem with the interlocking agreements the OCA courts voided.1 Paying for state-specific advice at the drafting stage is usually less expensive than repairing the structure later.
How the ADA Contract Analysis Service fits
The ADA runs a Contract Analysis Service, free to member dentists through state dental societies, that reviews proposed payer participation contracts. Its review covers PPO agreements and network-leasing clauses, and it returns a plain-language analysis of the terms.2 The service can be a cost-effective first review of a dental payer contract, particularly when network leasing is involved. The service does not review your MSA, transfer restriction, or other documents in the DSO agreement stack. It analyzes contracts offered to a dentist by third parties. It does not advise on the dentist’s practice structure or substitute for the dentist’s own counsel. Have a healthcare regulatory lawyer licensed in the state review the structural documents.Five questions for the first call
- “What’s the CPOD posture in [state], and what changed in the last two years?” A specialist should be able to discuss the developments that matter to your state, such as the California Aspen Dental settlement, SB 351, Colorado’s SB 25-194, or Kentucky’s KRS 313.075. They should also recognize when a development does not apply, as with Oregon SB 951’s dental carve-out.
- “How would you structure the management fee here, and why?” A useful answer connects the formula to the state’s fee-splitting, referral, control, and compensation rules. That includes the express dependency rules in Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina, along with Maryland’s distinct fixed-compensation pathway.
- “How many DSO structures have you built in this state?”
- “Who represents the dentist-owner?” The right answer is someone else, and they need their own counsel. A lawyer offering to represent both sides is telling you something.
- “How do you keep clients current as the law changes?” Recent developments in California, Colorado, Kentucky, and North Carolina make this a practical question.
Scoping and budgeting
Directional ranges. Vary widely by market and firm.How to spend less without spending badly
Scope tightly. “Review this MSA against Kansas’s 65-1471 and flag issues” costs less than “advise us on our structure.” Ask whether a base MSA with state riders fits the group better than a fully separate agreement for every state. Reusable provisions can reduce later drafting cost, while each rider still needs a current state-law review. Batch questions. Keep a running list rather than emailing each as it arises. Ask for fixed fees on formation, standard agreements, and state entries. Most firms will quote them. Do your homework first. Arriving with the DSO laws by state row, the specific statute, and a concrete question is far cheaper than arriving with “how does this work?” Use the free tier where it exists. ADA Contract Analysis for payer contracts; the North Carolina board’s published example management agreement as a reference point for what that board considers compliant.3 Know what can wait. An FMV study can often be deferred to your first raise, unless your fee is aggressive or your state is strict. Don’t skimp on the MSA. Everything else on this list is negotiable. This is not.Steps
1
Identify candidate firms
Sources include your state dental society, DSO industry groups, other dental group founders, and authors of useful law firm alerts. If an attorney wrote a clear analysis of the Aspen settlement or a new dental statute in your state, that work can help you judge whether their experience fits the assignment.
2
Run the five questions on an intake call
Most firms will do this without charge.
3
Scope the engagement in writing
Define the deliverables, states covered, fee arrangement, and whether a partner or associate will do the work.
4
Ask for the base-plus-riders structure explicitly
5
Ensure the dentist-owner engages separate counsel
Paying for it is appropriate. Selecting and directing it is not. In North Carolina this is written into the documents themselves: management arrangements are invalid without a conspicuous warning urging independent legal review.3
6
Set the refresh cadence
Annual review of the full stack, plus an immediate review whenever a state you operate in changes its law.
The refresh cadence
A scheduled annual review can be less expensive than revising the documents only after a law changes or a transaction exposes an inconsistency.Verify it worked
- Healthcare regulatory counsel with dental experience engaged, licensed in each operating state or coordinating local counsel
- Engagement scoped in writing
- Base MSA plus state riders, built for reuse
- Dentist-owner independently represented
- Payer contracts routed through the ADA Contract Analysis Service before signature, in addition to counsel where the stakes warrant
- Annual review calendared
- A process exists for catching state law changes; see the legislation tracker
Common failure modes
Sources
- In re OCA, Inc., 552 F.3d 413 (5th Cir. 2008); Orthodontic Affiliates, P.C. v. OrthAlliance, Inc., 210 F. Supp. 2d 1054 (N.D. Ind. 2002). Annotated on DSO & dental case law.
- ADA, Contract Analysis Service (free through state dental societies; reviews proposed payer contracts including network-leasing clauses).
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-40.2(b) (conspicuous independent-review warning; arrangements executed on or after January 1, 2013 invalid without it); N.C. State Board of Dental Examiners, Management arrangements (S.B. 257, signed July 7, 2026, ended mandatory review; board-published example agreement); Cal. S.B. 351 (2025), effective January 1, 2026; Colo. Board Rule 1.7 under S.B. 25-194; Ky. KRS 313.075 (effective April 13, 2026). Pinpoints: DSO laws by state.