Mary Emma Karam

Practice Areas

Healthcare & Life Sciences; Managed Care

Career

Mary Emma (Ackels) Karam is a preeminent Dallas healthcare contracting attorney, sought after outside general counsel, and recognized authority in managed care. She has practiced law at Jackson Walker for over 30 years, providing practical advice, strategic solutions, and remarkable results for her clients. Mary Emma’s dedication to client service and her reputation for integrity, tenacity, and collaboration are what set her apart. She emphasizes communication, results, and an uncompromising commitment to achieving her clients’ goals while effectively managing their legal costs. To this end, she is personally engaged in every decision that affects her clients, from selecting a legal team, to overseeing strategy, to reviewing every bill. Her deep level of involvement and attention to detail ensures that her clients receive the highest level of professionalism and value in every matter she handles.

Mary Emma’s practice consists of representing clients on the complex contractual aspects of managed care and the healthcare process. She counsels healthcare clients on strategies to accomplish their objectives in a cost-effective manner and advises corporate clients on healthcare related issues. She also advises employers on employee benefit plan issues and cost-management in their insurance plan and pharmacy benefit strategies.

Mary Emma has developed a system for hospital systems to revise their internal documents to keep claims from being denied and thereby increase hospital revenue. This method has increased the ratio of commercial payment in public hospitals and produced additional needed revenue to the hospital system without increasing cost of care.

As the first woman associate to become a partner at Jackson Walker and the mother of 6, Mary Emma knows better than most what it takes to break through barriers while still emphasizing the value of collaboration and communication. She has spent decades developing industry relationships, earning the trust and respect of providers and insurers alike and learning the needs and concerns of every participant in the healthcare industry. She is known for her ability to pick up the phone, assess competing interests, and develop a resolution that feels like a win to everyone involved. Her dedication to building meaningful relationships is further evidenced by her success as a mentor and rainmaker and is why she was chosen as Chair of Jackson Walker’s Statewide Business Development and Marketing Committee.

Mary Emma believes in cultivating an attitude of service, in both her career and in her community. Clients appreciate her dedication to their interests and her pragmatic, implementation-oriented advice. She doesn’t just tell clients what to do, she helps them figure out the best way to do it—developing practical strategies that allow them to accomplish their objectives as expeditiously, effectively, and economically as possible. Combining dedication and good judgment with creative thinking and decades of experience, she is able to offer service-centered, value-added representation to every client she represents.

Professional Memberships

The American Health Lawyers Association; Attorneys Serving the Community; Joseph’s Residence, Counsel to the Board; Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Ursuline Academy