Chief Counsel Penn Medicine Health System

University of Pennsylvania•Philadelphia, PA

3d•$90,000 - $450,000

About The Position

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President and General Counsel with dotted line reporting to the Chief Executive Officer for the Health System, this position will serve as the primary legal advisor to Penn Medicine’s Chief Executive Officer, trustee boards, senior leadership, physicians, clinicians, and staff. This role is critical in supporting Penn Medicine’s mission to advance knowledge and improve health through patient care, research, and the education of trainees in a culture that embraces inclusion, fosters innovation, stimulates critical thinking, supports lifelong learning, and sustains the legacy of excellence. The ideal candidate will possess exemplary leadership skills and business acumen, demonstrating the ability to manage, guide, and inspire a team of healthcare attorneys and legal professionals, and collaborate across Penn Medicine with clients and external parties to achieve objectives. This role is crucial in fostering a collaborative and engaging environment, ensuring the delivery of legal services and resources to accomplish corporate goals, strategies, and priorities within Penn Medicine. This position will work closely with senior leadership to understand Penn Medicine’s strategic initiatives and business needs, providing exceptional legal counsel and influencing appropriate legal considerations in decision-making. This role requires an excellent communicator, creative, strategic, and highly motivational leader, a strong team player who is solution-oriented, client focused, able to thrive in a fast-paced environment, and acts with the highest ethics and integrity. The candidate must have an outstanding reputation, be immediately credible both internally and externally, and can easily build trust and positive working relationships. Must possess exceptional organizational skills and maintain calm under pressure with impeccable judgment. The successful candidate will be mission-driven and have a strong executive presence and excellent listening skills, working collaboratively in the pursuit of excellence.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (J.D.) from American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school required.
Must be admitted and in good standing in Pennsylvania or other state bar prior to starting the position; admissions to Pennsylvania bar expected within one (1) year of appointment.
Admission to New Jersey bar is also required.
Requires 10-15+ years of progressively responsible legal experience in healthcare law gained at a law firm, public sector, and/or in an executive level in-house role.
Demonstrated expertise with healthcare legal and regulatory issues including but not limited to: comprehensive knowledge of healthcare laws and regulations such as Stark, Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, EMTALA, 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status, Corporate Structure and Governance, 340B Drug Pricing, managed care, and Clinical Network Affiliate Arrangements, Clinical Research, Contracting, Provider Credentialing, Medical Staff Governance and Non-Compete Agreements, Patient Care Related Issues, Risk Management, Litigation, and Insurance.
Demonstrated leadership of legal teams within healthcare and the ability to establish objectives, set performance standards, organize and motivate staff, and achieve goals.
Strategic thinker with impeccable analytical, negotiation, oral, and written communication skills.
Must have an ability to promptly identify and resolve complicated and sensitive problems creatively and with professional discretion
Emotional intelligence and ability to build credibility and establish effective relationships quickly across diverse stakeholders.
Executive presence, rational analysis, effective decision-making under pressure, and impeccable judgment.
Ability to interact and function effectively in a competitive, professional healthcare, academic and research environment.
Impeccable organizational and interpersonal skills
Mission-driven, ethical, and aligned with organizational values
Collaborative, client-focused, and solution-minded
Ability to analyze funding sources, financial data, legal budgets, and relate to short-and long-range goals.

Nice To Haves

Experience in academic health system and university-affiliated hospitals.
Proven track record of success and significant experience as a General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel for an academic medical center, a large health system, hospital, or healthcare organization is preferred.
Familiarity with technology, data privacy, healthcare and higher education legal frameworks.
Occasional travel required within the health system

Responsibilities

Strategic Legal Leadership Lead Penn Medicine Health System’s legal function to ensure business objectives are met by providing practical advice regarding all legal matters relating to business and strategic objectives.
Serve as the chief legal advisor to the Health System, its Chief Executive Officer, senior leadership, trustee boards, physicians, clinicians, and staff and advising on matters regarding laws and regulations applicable to the Health System on all legal and corporate governance issues.
Act as primary legal advisor on laws, regulations, litigation, risk management, contracts, compliance, governance issues and other legal matters.
Counsel senior leadership and trustee boards on strategic initiatives—Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), joint ventures, network development, and other related matters.
Provide practical legal guidance aligned with health system objectives and growth strategies.
Assist in the development and expansion of health system compliance programs as needed with general counsel, chief executive officer, and senior leadership.
Department Management & Team Leadership Lead and grow a high-performing in-house legal team; oversee assignments, retention, and performance.
Conduct annual performance reviews and develop training programs for staff and leadership on risk awareness, compliance obligations, ethical standards, and other areas.
Foster collaboration, mentorship, and effective communication within the team.
Risk Management & Compliance Advise on litigation, regulatory, compliance, and other risks related to the Health System; providing counseling with respect to the legal risks and mitigation options associated with business practices, and developing strategy with both inside and outside counsel in response to litigation and regulatory inquiries, and cost effectively managing resources required to address those matters.
Monitor legal, regulatory, and operational risks across the health system, including clinical, financial, and compliance areas.
Implement risk mitigation plans aligned with organizational objectives and regulatory requirements.
Investigate areas of potential legal risk and provide legal advice to senior leadership, physicians, clinicians and staff of the Health System to protect from legal exposure and maximize compliance with statutory, regulatory and case law requirements; review administrative policies with respect to such matters.
Monitor evolving laws and regulations (e.g., Stark Law, Anti-Kickback, EMTALA, False Claims, 340B), internal policies, translating into operational guidance.
Review and assist in the interpretation of ever-changing laws and regulations for potential impact on and compliance by the Health System and assuring collaboration with leaders to enable effective communication of the same to all applicable constituents.
Transactional and Contractual Oversight Oversee transactional and contractual matters to include negotiation, drafting and implementation of a wide variety of complex, multiparty agreements to ensure they are in accord with various rules and regulations under which the Health System operates, are technically correct, and in furtherance to the interests of the Health System.
Oversee complex healthcare-related contracts (joint ventures, clinical networks, managed care, physician compensation, clinical affiliations, research partnerships, managed care arrangements, facility licensing, facility leasing, real estate, innovation, technology transfer, and other general transactions).
Support M&A, joint ventures, and system integrations, overseeing legal diligence and execution.
Regulatory Management Engage with government agencies and industry partners on compliance, investigations, and policy.
Lead investigations, oversee compliance audits, risk mitigation efforts, and coordinate responses to regulatory inquiries, enforcement actions, and dispute resolutions.
Oversee relationships and exercise primary responsibility for the selection, evaluation, retention, and use of outside healthcare legal counsel.
Oversee the assignment of work and the evaluation of the appropriateness of each firm's quality and cost effectiveness.
Governance, Ethics & Training Develop training programs on legal and compliance matters for staff and leadership.
Monitor all developments and changes in relevant state and federal statutes, regulations and court rulings that may affect Health System initiatives.
Recommend and propose changes to compliance plan and initiatives to senior management.
Work closely with the General Counsel on legal matters related to the Health System, including its departments, centers, operating units and subsidiaries that comprise the Health System.
In partnership with the General Counsel, oversee the recruitment, retention, and development of a high performing team of in-house counsel and professional staff.
Lead healthcare legal team with a focus on mentorship, teamwork, communication and fostering a positive, collaborative and responsive environment.
Coordinate with the General Counsel and other Health System colleagues, as appropriate, with respect to matters involving potential compliance, conflict of interest, and reputational risk.
Provide on-call attorney advice periodically to Penn Medicine clients.

Benefits

Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare.
You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.