Category: Veterinary Practice Litigation

Owners of vet practices have numerous regulatory compliance issues that they must address, including those involving cybersecurity obligations under applicable laws. These obligations can include implementing reasonable cybersecurity hardware and software, developing data security best practices, and reporting breaches of protected information. Practice owners must take these obligations seriously, as non-compliance...

Becoming a practice owner is a major career milestone, but the path you take can have lasting legal and financial consequences. Earn-in and buy-in arrangements both allow veterinary associates to acquire ownership, yet they differ significantly in how equity is earned, when ownership transfers, and the risks each party assumes.

Few things are more unsettling for a veterinarian than learning a board complaint has been filed against them. A veterinary board complaint does not automatically mean you will lose your license or face discipline. It does mean that a licensing board may investigate your professional conduct, and how you respond can affect...

If you're hiring veterinarians or support staff in 2026, simply posting "competitive pay" may no longer be enough. Pay transparency laws continue to expand across the country, and veterinary practice owners should understand how they affect hiring, compensation, and employee communications. Even if your state has not adopted one of these laws,...

Individual liability refers to situations where a veterinarian, practice owner, or employee may be held personally responsible for legal claims, debts, or damages. While business entities such as LLCs, PLLCs, and professional corporations can provide significant protection, those protections are not absolute. Veterinary professionals often focus on patient care,...

Financing a veterinary practice is not the same as financing many other small businesses. While SBA loans are commonly used for veterinary practice acquisitions and expansions, lenders often evaluate veterinary practices using industry-specific factors. Veterinary practices tend to have recurring client relationships, stable demand, and measurable cash flow. As...

Veterinary practice owners thinking about an eventual exit often tend to focus on revenue, client volume, and profitability when considering the practice’s value. Those numbers certainly matter, but buyers also look closely at what happens when the owner steps away. If too much of the practice depends on one person, that can...

When a veterinary practice owner considers selling their practice or bringing in investors, they will want to maximize the practice’s valuation to get the most for the work they’ve put into building their business. But what factors can increase or decrease the value of a practice? Knowing what affects valuation can help...

Veterinary practices rely on reputation, referrals, and online visibility, but not all marketing tactics are legally safe. Misleading ads, improper use of client reviews, and unintentional regulatory violations can expose your practice to fines or license issues, not to mention pushback from your existing and prospective client bases. As...

Informed consent has always been part of veterinary care, but the expectations around it keep changing. Today, veterinarians are under more pressure to explain tests, treatment options, and surgery risks in a clear, honest way. Clients want to understand what’s happening with their pets, especially as new technology and telemedicine become more...

Courts and lawmakers across the country are changing how they consider companion animals in legal matters. For decades, pets were treated as personal property—the same as furniture or other personal items—in legal disputes. But now, that view is starting to shift.  States such as Illinois, Alaska,