Biography

Craig S Steinberg, O.D., J.D., brings a unique perspective and expertise to the field of Optometric Law. Dr. Steinberg earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Southern California in 1980, where he was also the Pac-10 individual champion and an All-American in golf. He obtained his O.D. degree from the University of Missouri – St. Louis, School of Optometry in 1984 and has been licensed to practice optometry in California since then.

Dr. Steinberg began his law practice in 1996 after completing law school at night. Shortly thereafter he became involved in efforts at reining in the illegal sales of contact lenses by various out-of-state mail-order contact lens companies. Since then Dr. Steinberg has become known across the United States as one of the few experts in optometric law, has lectured extensively across the United States on a variety of topics of interest to optometrists, including practice transactions, contracting, and HIPAA compliance, and has represented hundreds of optometrists in matters ranging from State Board discipline, opposing VSP audits, business buy-sell agreements and partnerships, business and employee litigation involving optometrists, and optometric consulting. He has been retained and testified in court as an expert witness on issues such as standard of care and practice valuation. He represents several physician groups and is general and litigation counsel for a 140,000-member IPA. Along with continuing to play competitive golf in both the United States and Europe, he continues to practice optometry part-time in Sherman Oaks, California while engaged in his law practice on a full-time basis.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Southern California College of Optometry, 1998

Completion of Didactic Course in the Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease/Therapeutic Agents

Doctorate – Law (J.D.), 1990 – 93

University of La Verne, College of Law
Encino, California
American Jurisprudence Award – Contracts
Law Review, 1993
Deans List
Specialty courses in Bankruptcy, Workers’ Compensation
Graduated top 5% of class attending school at night on part-time basis and working full time during the day

Doctorate – Optometry (O.D.), 1980 – 84

University of Missouri – St. Louis, School of Optometry
St. Louis, Missouri
Dean’s List – 8 semesters
Student Body President, 1982
Admissions Committee student member, 1983
Graduated number 3 in class

Bachelor of Sciences – Biology, 1975 – 80

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Member, varsity golf team
1st Team All-Conference (Golf)
2nd Team NCAA All-American (Golf)
Pacific-10 Conference Individual Champion (Golf)

Licensure

Optometrist, California Board of Optometry Lic. No. 8032T, since 1984
Attorney, California State Bar No. 181902, since 1996

Certifications

Board Certified, National Board of Examiners in Optometry, 1984
Board Certified, Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease, 1998

Employment History

Law

Attorney, April 1996 – Present
Law Offices of Craig S. Steinberg
Agoura Hills, California
(818) 879-7919

Engaged in the practice of law as a sole practitioner and expert witness, with emphasis on Healthcare and Optometric Law and issues related to the practice of optometry, including State Board defense, VSP and Third-party payer disciplinary and administrative hearings, audits, and defense, Optometrist-Optician relationships, optometric partnerships, and optometric buy-sell and related transactions.

General law including business litigation, business transactions and business formation.

General and Litigation Counsel: Community Family Care Medical Group, IPA

Attorney, April 1999 – 2000
Law Offices of James Wiederschall
Woodland Hills, California

Associate attorney, part time, in law firm specializing in insurance litigation and insurance defense, including declaratory relief, bad faith, fidelity and surety bonds, and related insurance coverage issues.

Attorney, June 1996 – 1999
Law Offices of William J. Salica
Encino, California

Associate attorney, part time, in law firm specializing in business litigation.

Optometry

Optometrist, 1994 – Present
Owner, Craig S. Steinberg, O.D., A Prof. Corporation dba City Eyes Optometry Center
Sherman Oaks, California

Engaged in the general practice of optometry as the owner of a private practice.

Optometrist, 1992-1994
Owner, Valley Optometry Center
Van Nuys, California

Engaged in the general practice of optometry as the owner of a private practice. Responsible for all aspects of the business operations including receivables, payables, finance, payroll, legal and day to day operations in addition to full patient and professional responsibilities.

Optometrist, 1984 – 1992
Employee
Valley Optometry Center
Van Nuys, California

Employed optometrist in general practice.

Optometrist, 1994 – 1999
Dr. M. Friedman and Associates
Culver City, California

Employed as a staff optometrist on a part-time basis. Responsible for patient care, Medicare billing, and staff training.

Optometrist and
Corporate Officer, 1992 – 1993
All Valley Eye Institute, A Medical Group, Inc.
North Hollywood, California

Employed as a staff optometrist. Member of the Board of Directors. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Responsible for general optometric duties and patient care, corporate financial operations, payables and receivables, and corporate legal affairs.

Optometrist, 1985 – 1989
Alan R. Schankman, M.D., Inc.
North Hollywood, California

Employed as an optometrist on a part-time basis. Responsible for general patient care, contact lenses and patient triage.

Other

Counsel, 2010 – Present 
Community Family Care Medical Group IPA, Inc.

General and Litigation Counsel to a 130,000-life Medi-Cal Managed Care Independent Physician Association (IPA)

Counsel, 2011 – 2016
 Kids & Teens Medical Group & 
Serendib Healthways IPA

General and Litigation Counsel to a Multi-Office Pediatric Medical Group and IPA

Founder and Executive Director, American Association of Doctors of Optometry (AADO), 2015 – Present

Founder and Executive Director of National Association opposing unfair business practices by vision care plans and third-party payers.

General Counsel, 2009 – 2013 American Board of Clinical Optometry

General counsel to national optometric certification program.

General Counsel, 2009 – 2011
American Optometric Society

General counsel to national non-profit optometric association.

Consultant, Corporate President, 1985 – 1993
S&S Office Systems, Inc.

Responsible for all computer programming, installation and maintenance for small business, primarily medical offices, computer systems. Authored custom billing software, installed hardware and software, trained staff on operations, and maintained systems.

Awards, Accomplishments and Distinctions

2016 Named “Super Lawyer” for 2017, 2018, 2019
2014 U.S. Senior Open, Contestant
2013 Founder/Executive Director, American Association of Doctors of Optometry
2009 Founder/General Counsel, American Optometric Society
2008 U.S. Senior Open, 72-hole Contestant
2008 Inductee, Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
1998 NBEO Certified – Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease
1998 Los Angeles City Men’s Golf Champion
1998 California State Amateur Medalist Golf Champion
1994 California Bar Exam
1993 Law Review, University of La Verne College of Law
1992 American Jurisprudence Award in Contracts
1984 National and California State Optometric Board Exams
1981 – 2019 Contestant in 26 National USGA Golf Championships
1980 Pac-10 Individual Champion, Golf
1980 NCAA All-American (Golf); First-Team All-Conference (Pac-10)
Licensed in good standing to practice Optometry and Law in California
Southern California Golf Association Amateur Champion (1997, ’92, ’91, ’88)
Southern California Golf Association Mid-Amateur Champion (1996 & 2001)

Boards/Committees

Chairman, American Association of Doctors of Optometry
Former Member of Board of Directors, Ventura County Junior Golf Association
Former National Board of Examiners in Optometry – Law & Ethics Committee
Former Director of Legal Services, Consultant, The PowerPractice
Board of Directors and Secretary, North Ranch Country Club (2011-2013)

Memberships

American Optometric Association
California Optometric Association
San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles County Bar Associations
Healthcare Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association
State Bar of California
Tarzana Regional Medical Center, Past Member, Allied Health Staff (former)
National Board of Examiners in Optometry, Law and Public Health Committee
Admitted – United States District Court – Central, Eastern and Northern Districts
Admitted – United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit
Admitted – Supreme Court of California (1996)

Expert Witness

Retained in a variety of matters to testify as an expert witness, including:

    • State Board proceeding re: gross negligence
    • Civil proceeding re: non-compete provisions
    • Civil proceeding re: valuation of optometric records
    • Civil/administrative recoupment proceeding re: Medicare billing/audit
    • Family law trial proceeding re: valuation of optometric practice

Speaking Engagements

Featured Speaker/Webinar, April 2020
Understanding (Optometric) Private Equity Sales

Guest Speaker, CEWire2019, January 2019
Legal Issues Every OD Should Know SOMETHING About

Guest Speaker, Contact Lens Manufacturers Association, Oct. 2019
What You Need to Know About “Labels”

Guest Speaker, Vision by Design, May 2019
Orthokeratology & Myopia Control, Legal Considerations

Guest Speaker, CEWire2019, January 2019
VSP Audits and Hearings: Circa 2019

Guest Speaker, Cleinman Performance Partners, 2018-2020
Exiting Vision Plans Profitably

Guest Speaker, Cleinman Performance Partners, 2018-2020
Legal Considerations in Buying and Selling a Practice

Guest Speaker, Global Specialty Lens Symposium, January 2018
Surviving a Medically Necessary CL Audit by Medical Insurers

Guest Speaker, CEWire2018, January 2018
Essential Medical Record Keeping in Medical Optometry

Guest Speaker, Vision Source, March 2017
Minimizing Risks – Medical Records and Audits

Guest Speaker, CEWire2017, January 2017
Partnerships and Associate Doctors: What you Need to Know
VSP, Know Your Obligations and Your Opportunities

Guest Speaker, CEWire2016, May 2016
Minimizing Risk: Records, Audits and HIPAA

Guest Speaker, AZOA Annual Meeting, Nov 2015
Minimizing Risks: Medical Record Keeping, Audits and Patient Privacy

Guest Speaker, Dickson Chen, O.D., Optometric CE Program, July 2015
A Cross-Examination of Legal Topics Every OD Should Know

Guest Speaker, CEWire2015, May 2015
Just the Facts: Partnerships, Associate Agreements and Buy/Sell Contracts

Guest Speaker, 2014 IDOC Optometric Business Conference, April 2014
A Cross-Examination of Legal Topics Every OD Should Know
Just the Facts: Partnerships, Associate Agreements and Buy/Sell Contracts

Guest Speaker, “Seeing is Believing 2013”
A Little Bit of Everything (Legal) an Optometrist Should Know

Guest Speaker, University of Houston, College of Optometry, 2012
Essential Aspects of “Associate Doctor” Agreements

Guest Speaker, NVisionCenters Annual CE Meeting, 2012
Issues in Optometry, 2012

Guest Speaker, American Optometric Society Annual Meeting, 2010
Avoiding & Surviving VSP Audits

Guest Speaker, CV Management, 2010
American Optometric Society & American Board of Clinical Optometry

Guest Speaker, The PowerPractice Annual Meeting, 2006
Diabolical Hypotheticals – Legal Challenges in the Optometric Office

Guest Speaker, The PowerHour Show, 2013
Guest Speaker, American Regulatory Boards of Optometry
Guest Speaker, Minnesota Optometric Association Annual Meeting
IDOC Member-Director, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
Lecturer, Third Party and Medicare Billing for Optometrists

Publications

Author, Employer’s Guide for Optometrists
Author, HIPAA Policy and Procedure Manual
Columnist, Review of Optometry, 1999-2000
Columnist, Optometric Management, 1998-1999
Medicare Billing Guide for Optometrists, 1986-87
Child Abuse: Is Absolute Immunity Too Much, Journal of Juvenile Law, 1994
Numerous Digest Articles, Journal of Juvenile Law, 1994
Covenants Not to Compete, Optometric Economics, May 1997
Don’t Get Trapped, Non-compete Clauses, Women in Optometry, Spring, 2007
MDClip Computerized Office Management System (DOS)
Quoted in Review of Optometry, January 1997, Summer 1996
Published cases: 1-800 Contacts v. Steinberg (2003) 107 Cal.App.4th 568, 132 Cal.Rptr.2d 789

Biography

Born March 10, 1958, Los Angeles, California
Married (Pamela). Children, Ryan (1987), Morgan (1990), and Devyn (2001)
Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles
Presently lives in Northern Los Angeles County, in Agoura Hills, California