Calfee Welcomes Fred A. Hilow as Partner and Leader of Calfee's Health Care Litigation Practice

Calfee News

Calfee is pleased to announce that Fred A. Hilow has joined the firm’s Cleveland, Ohio office as a Partner and Leader of the Health Care Litigation practice area.

Fred is a seasoned trial lawyer with significant first-chair experience in both federal and state court. He represents hospitals, health care organizations, individual providers, private practices, and life sciences companies in a wide range of complex litigation, disputes, investigations, and administrative proceedings. He also advises health care clients on regulatory, compliance and credentialing matters. 

In addition, Fred counsels clients who are the subject of investigations by federal, state and local executive agencies and law enforcement in matters involving alleged health care fraud, anti-kickback, bribery, False Claims Act violations, Controlled Substance Act violations, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fraud and overpayment, sexual misconduct, elder abuse and assault.

Fred has experience representing pediatric hospitals and their providers in cases involving mandatory reporting of suspected abuse, neglect or dependency of minor patients. He has successfully defended large hospital systems in federal court against various constitutional claims, including discrimination, due process, and Eighth Amendment violations. He also represents professionals before state licensing agencies, including medical, nursing, and dental boards.

Outside of the courtroom, Fred advises health care executives and board members on internal investigations, fiduciary duties, HIPAA compliance, electronic medical records (EMR) systems, and employment matters. Fred regularly gives lectures at universities and hospitals on trending issues in health care law and regulatory topics.

Fred has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America^® for Healthcare Litigation and Medical Malpractice Defense. He has also been recognized in Healthcare Litigation by Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.

“I am excited for this opportunity to lead Calfee’s Health Care Litigation practice,” said Fred Hilow. “The health care and life sciences industries are constantly changing, and this poses unique challenges for our clients. With Calfee’s full-service capabilities and deep bench of talented attorneys, our Health Care team is well-equipped to be vigorous advocates for our clients both in the courtroom and at the negotiating table. We are a results-oriented firm and our group will always strive to achieve the best possible outcome for our clients.”

Calfee’s Health Care Litigation attorneys provide practical, industry-specific counsel, backed by the firm’s 35+ business litigators and health care attorneys. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Fred to Calfee. The breadth and depth of Fred’s health care-related legal experience will complement our existing litigation and investigations practices," said Partner and Vice Chair of Calfee's Litigation group, Fritz E. Berckmueller. "Fred is the perfect addition to strengthen our team, and we are already seeing clients benefit from our expanded health care and investigations bench with Fred’s arrival.”

Since 2005, Calfee has been recognized by Chambers USA as a Leading Law Firm in Litigation: General Commercial, most recently in Band 2 in Ohio (2025). In addition, Calfee was selected for inclusion by Benchmark Litigation 2025 as a Highly Recommended Law Firm in Dispute Resolution in Ohio. 

Thomas M. Welsh, Calfee’s Managing Partner, stated “We are very excited to have Fred Hilow, an experienced and well-respected Health Care Litigation partner, join the firm as the team's leader. Health Care has historically been a strong practice area and industry for Calfee, and the skills and experience that Fred offers our clients enhance the group's capabilities and align well with the firm's strategic initiatives.”

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Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP is a full-service, corporate law firm with attorneys and related professionals located in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Washington, D.C. As a founding member of Lex Mundi, Calfee also offers international representation through a network of independent law firms with 22,000 attorneys in more than 125 countries.

Since 1903, Calfee's mission has been to provide meaningful legal and business counsel on matters that are critical to the success of our clients. Calfee lawyers routinely represent a wide spectrum of private and public organizations – from emerging companies to Fortune 500 corporations – as well as government entities, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, and individuals.

Calfee is consistently ranked one of the top law firms in Ohio and continues to receive recognition, both nationally and regionally, from a number of leading industry publications.