“When I met Ezra, I saw that we had key similarities –– like me, he has a small, privately owned practice and wanted to do his best for his clients without the complications and politics of a big company. I liked him, and I asked him to represent me as I broke away from the group.”
Subsequently the doctors in the practice participated in mediation, and they discovered that it was not Dr. Costello who should separate, but another doctor. “The rest of us wanted to stay together,” he says, so the physicians who wanted to remain in practice together engaged Ezra jointly.
Separating a doctor from a group practice is a complicated and difficult process, “but Ezra always kept us calm and gave us good advice,” Dr. Costello says. They were happy with Ezra’s “civil, non-contentious” negotiating style.
“We were so happy with his services as a contract lawyer that we have used him again and again for other things,” such as drafting employment agreements, revising governing documents, and bringing in a new partner.
“He’s kind of our in-house attorney now.”
Not long ago, Dr. Costello became medical director of the Shields Surgery Center in Medford.
“I asked Ezra to advise me on the contract. He saw that it was lopsided in favor of the other party, and he helped make it more balanced, more favorable to my needs, without causing me any stress.”
“Being a doctor is rewarding,” he says. “You have a direct, positive impact on someone’s life, literally with your own hands. But the business side of being a doctor can be frustrating. It’s much easier when you have a good lawyer to advise you, one who is comfortable to work with, honest, and compatible.”
Dr. Thomas H. Costello graduated from Boston University’s combined Bachelor of Arts and Medical Degree Program in 1999 and completed a general surgery internship and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. He joined Ear, Nose and Throat Consultants in 2005. The practice has offices in Winchester and Woburn, and affiliations with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital, Winchester Hospital, and Hallmark Health. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy.
