Region VP General Counsel

Job Summary /Purpose

CommonSpirit Health was formed by the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dignity Health. With more than 700 care sites across the U.S. from clinics and hospitals to home-based care and virtual care services CommonSpirit is accessible to nearly one out of every four U.S. residents. Our world needs compassion like never before. Our communities need caring and our families need protection. With our combined resources CommonSpirit is committed to building healthy communities advocating for those who are poor and vulnerable and innovating how and where healing can happen both inside our hospitals and out in the community. 

• The  Region General Counsel ( GC )serves as the primary legal representative for an assigned CommonSpirit Health Operating Region and, in so doing, personally delivers or oversees, directs, and manages the delivery of all in-house and outside counsel legal services to operating units within the assigned Operating Region.  The CommonSpirit Operating Regions currently include: the Central Region, the California Region, the South R Mountain Region,  South Region and the Northwest Region (Operating Regions). The Region GC is also responsible for training, supervising, and evaluating junior attorneys, paralegals, and staff within the assigned Operating Region, as well as for serving on or assisting the CommonSpirit Legal Team in developing legal products or performing legal services for the CommonSpirit enterprise.

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Essential Key Job Responsibilities :

• Provide  legal services, advice, and counsel to assigned Operating Region, management, boards, and committees, 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 assigned Operating Region, and actively participate in board and management meetings.
• Provide  specific legal expertise to assigned Operating Region, with respect to applicable requirements of the Stark Law, Anti-Kickback 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.
• Facilitate assigned Operating Region’s compliance with CommonSpirit 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 Operating Region leadership, management, boards, and committees on updates or changes to same.
• Draft, review, revise, and provide legal guidance on agreements and other documents with legal implications between the assigned Operating Region and physician-owned entities, physician groups, and individual physicians; and, as requested or needed, between the assigned Operating Region and vendors, especially with respect to large or complex vendor arrangements (using templates adopted by the Legal Team, as appropriate).
• Maximize use of internal legal resources so as to decrease unnecessary reliance on outside legal resources; train, supervise, and evaluate direct report attorneys and paralegals in the performance of legal services for assigned Operating Region; and oversee provision of consistent legal services within the Region and across the CommonSpirit enterprise.
• Serve as the primary contact between assigned Operating Region 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 for appropriate use of time devoted to the performance of the services, as well as to cost effectiveness/containment.
• Serve as a leader on the Legal Operations Team to assist with formulating consistent legal positions for CommonSpirit and implement consistent application within assigned Operating Region.  
• Develop and maintain strong lines of communication and coordinate with Legal Team specialty attorneys to facilitate the delivery of Legal Team specialty center of excellence (COE) services within the assigned Operating Region, consistent with established specialty COE processes.

The job summary and responsibilities listed above are designed to indicate the general nature of the work performed within this job. They are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all job responsibilities required of employees assigned to this job. Employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience :

• Juris Doctor or equivalent degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.  Health law or specialty professional education, or equivalent experience (preferred).
• Minimum of twelve (12) years’ experience in attorney capacity, either with a law firm or in-house legal department involving the performance of general, operational, or specialty legal services for hospitals, health systems, medical foundations or groups, clinics, providers, health care delivery organizations, or integrated delivery systems.
• Minimum of seven (7) years’ leadership experience.

Required Licensure and Certifications: 

• Active State Bar licensure, registration as in-house counsel, or equivalent acceptable status for state of primary work location.

Required Minimum Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Training :

• Strong decision-making skills and judgment with the ability to handle complex and multidimensional issues 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills 
• Strong drafting skills suitable to more complex and sophisticated matters
• Understanding of and ability to adhere to confidentiality obligations 
• Effective and collegial interpersonal skills; ability to perform legal functions with integrity and consistent with CommonSpirit’s mission, vision, and values
• Ability to work independently, manage a diverse work-flow, and timely and effectively complete assigned work
• Possess an understanding of when to inform or advance legal issues to or seek input from Legal Team leadership 
• Ability to use in-house and outside legal resources to accomplish work while achieving cost effectiveness

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Benefits Include: Benefits include Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid Time Off, Holidays, Retirement Program, Disability Plans, Tuition Reimbursement, Adoption Assistance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Discount Programs, Life Insurance Plans, Worker Compensation, Dress for Your Day Policy, Voluntary Benefits.

Position is eligible for incentive pay based on company performance.