Christian M. Auty
Much Shelist, P.C.
Health Care Law and Data Privacy

Christian Auty seems to attract the highest of praise from his peers.

Consider the compliment given to him by nominator Paul Harner, partner with New York City law firm Ballard Spahr: “In nearly 30 years of practice, I have not encountered a more talented and dedicated young lawyer than Christian. He has an incomparable mind and consummate judgment, is always 10 steps ahead of his clients and colleagues, but in the most poised, professional and understated way.”

And Harner is far from alone. A senior attorney at a major health insurer said that few attorneys work as diligently for their clients as does Auty.

“Christian is devoted to his clients,” Petelle said. “He takes every opportunity to learn not just about his client’s legal concerns, but the client’s business goals and operational challenges. He has the ability to distill challenging legal and technological concepts to their essence, facilitating understanding and action among stakeholders.”

During his busy career, Auty has helped pharmaceutical and health care clients resolve the most complex of disputes, conduct internal investigations and successfully respond to regulatory and law enforcement inquiries.

His specialty? Tackling issues at the intersection of law and technology, everything from matters involving data privacy regimes and data breach responses to information governance and proactive risk analysis. Auty brings a strong litigation background to the table, assisting clients in confronting the novel challenges posed by ever-changing regulatory regimes, and capitalizing on the unique opportunities presented by new technology.

A particularly complex case illustrates Auty’s talents. While working together, Auty and fellow Much Shelist attorney Ned Milenkovich, were able to negotiate the settlement of serious allegations by multiple federal regulatory agencies for less than 10 percent of the originally offered fine amount.

Auty participated in all aspects of the matter, leading the client’s representation before the administrative tribunal and supporting simultaneous negotiations with several federal agencies.

“Christian is a consistent and resourceful advocate, equally able to advise his clients with pragmatic, business-oriented solutions to complex regulatory issues and to advocate forcefully on their behalf,” Milenkovich said. “He is, moreover, always curious, and devotes himself to learning and understanding new technologies and their potential legal ramifications, especially in the always dynamic health care arena.”

Auty has that rare ability, too, to instill confidence in all who are around him, including his fellow attorneys and his clients. At the same time, his peers say that his pleasant demeanor and strong ethics make working with him a pleasure.

Harner points to a case in which Auty was tasked with leading the associate team in a very large matter multidisciplinary matter for which Harner was responsible. Auty had the complete confidence of the client, Harner said.

“And frankly, he could have led the entire engagement,” Harner said.