Regional General Counsel

CommonSpirit was created by the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health as a single ministry in early 2019. More than 150,000 physicians, nurses, caregivers, and other staff are employed by CommonSpirit Our hospitals and care centers cover 21 states. CommonSpirit has the size and ability to scale best-in-class clinical service lines; recruit and retain top talent; standardize operations to improve quality and reduce the cost of care; and advocate more effectively for all people, especially those who are poor and vulnerable. For more information, please visit our website at www.commonspirithealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Responsibilities

Position Summary:

To serve as the primary legal representative for an assigned CHI Region or Division and, in so doing, to personally deliver or to oversee, direct, and manage the delivery of all in-house and outside counsel legal services to MBOs within the assigned Region or Division. The Vice President, Legal Services, and Regional General Counsel is also responsible for training, supervising, and evaluating Corporate Counsel and Paralegal(s) in their work for MBOs within the assigned Region or Division, as well as for serving on or assisting the CHI Legal Services Group in developing legal products and/or performing legal services for the CHI Healthcare System as a whole.

Provide legal services, advice, and counsel to assigned CHI Region, Division, and Market Based Organization (MBO) management and boards, particularly with respect to corporate and operational actions, physician alignment strategies, and legal and regulatory compliance; serve as a member of interdisciplinary operations leadership team(s) for the assigned CHI Region, Division, and MBOs; and actively participate in board and management meetings.

Provide specific legal expertise to assigned CHI Region, Division, and MBOs with respect to applicable requirements of the Stark Law, AntiKickback Statute, Tax Exemption and Bond Financing Requirements, HIPAA, EMTALA, and other federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations that govern health care providers and systems.

Ensure assigned CHI Region, Division, or MBO compliance with CHI Governance Matrix, policies, and procedures, as applicable; serve as a champion or advocate for local adherence to such policies and procedures; and advise or educate CHI Region, Division, and MBO management and boards on updates or changes to same.

Draft, review, revise, and provide legal guidance on agreements and other documents with legal implications between the assigned CHI Region, Division, and MBOs and physician-owned entities, physician groups, and individual physicians; and, as requested or needed, between the assigned CHI Region, Division, and MBOs and vendors, especially with respect to large or complex vendor arrangements.

Maximize use of internal legal resources so as to decrease unnecessary reliance on outside legal resources; train, supervise, and evaluate direct report Corporate Counsel and Paralegal(s) in the performance of legal services for the assigned CHI Region, Division, or MBOs; and ensure consistent legal services are delivered within the Region, Division, or MBOs and across the CHI Healthcare System as a whole.

Serve as the primary contact between the assigned CHI Region, Division, or MBOs and outside counsel for purposes of determining the need to engage outside counsel on any particular project; enlist the services of outside counsel to cover projects that require a higher level of expertise, more human resources, or a more immediate turnaround time than is available in-house; oversee and manage the work of outside counsel on assigned projects; and regularly review outside counsel services to ensure appropriate use of time devoted to the performance of the services, as well as to achieve cost effectiveness/containment.

Serve as bridge and ensure good working relationships between legal staff (i.e., Corporate Counsel, Paralegals, and Assistants) dedicated to assigned CHI Region, Division, and MBOs and other members of the CHI Legal Services Group and between legal staff and other CHI groups.

Provide legal and strategic support to other CHI groups, task forces, and teams as designated or requested by the Senior Vice President, Legal Services, and General Counsel.

Perform other duties to support the work of the Legal Services Group as reasonably requested or assigned.

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Qualifications

Job Requirements / Qualifications

Education / Accreditation / Licensure (required & preferred):

J.D. or L.L.B. awarded by an ABA accredited law school.

Experience (required and preferred):

License to practice in one or more states.

Minimum of (10) ten year’s experience as legal counsel to/in the healthcare industry relating to the above legal services through representation of healthcare clients, either in private legal practice or as an in-house counsel to a hospital health system.

Provide professional responsibilities in a manner consistent with the philosophy, mission, and values of CHI.

Good interpersonal skills.

Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Health professional education, experience, and/or equivalent.

Decision-making skills and judgment to ensure that MBO activities maximize benefits to the MBO Groups and CHI Healthcare System and those activities are conducted in accordance with CHI Mission and Core Values and the ERDs.

Ability to ensure the effective use of in-house and outside legal resources to accomplish tasks, resolve legal issues, and achieve cost effectiveness; ability to provide comparison of outside attorneys in order to evaluate performance and to create uniformly high expectations.

The skills required to work in a matrix organization. Strong interpersonal skills that build effective working relationships with CHI leadership, staff, and other CHI Groups, Task Forces, and Teams.