Associate General Counsel

Exemption Status:

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This position may have a signing bonus available a member of the Recruitment Team will confirm eligibility during the interview process.

At UMass Memorial Health, everyone is a caregiver - regardless of their title or responsibilities. Exceptional patient care, academic excellence and leading-edge research make UMass Memorial the premier health system of Central Massachusetts, and a place where we can help you build the career you deserve. We are more than 16,000 employees, working together as one health system in a relentless pursuit of healing for our patients, community and each other. And everyone, in their own unique way, plays an important part, every day.

We are seeking a health care attorney to join our growing, collaborative and fast-paced Legal Department. We are looking for a lawyer with significant experience working for health care clients on legal issues related to patient care, medical staff, peer review, PCA programs, provider scope of practice, substance use disorder and controlled substance regulation, and federal and state health care regulatory and enforcement matters (including AGO, CMS, DPH, DMH, BORN, BORM, NPDB and DEA). The candidate should possess the ability to deliver proactive, high quality client service working with clinical and operational leadership and front line staff, and to oversee enforcement and regulatory agency and board of registration matters. The candidate should have a minimum of five to seven years of patient care/medical staff experience and a license to practice law in Massachusetts. Knowledge of federal and state health care laws (including privacy, peer review, Stark, fraud and abuse and regulatory compliance matters) is strongly preferred. We are looking for a colleague with outstanding relevant legal experience, excellent interpersonal skills, a commitment to client satisfaction and a desire to be part of a great team.

I. Major Responsibilities:

1. Provides legal services as a member of the Office of General Counsel.
2. Provides legal advice and support to advance strategic priorities and accomplish organizational goals while mitigating legal risks.
3. Provides legal counsel on various aspects of policy making within the organization. This may include, but is not limited to policies concerning administrative, business operations, compliance, governance, clinical, human resources, IS or patient safety matters.
4. Provides legal counsel in the form of formal and informal memoranda, verbal consultations, meetings, and education sessions, working closely with departments for operations input.
5. Advises senior management, Board(s) of Trustees and physician leaders on state, federal and other regulatory agency guidelines.
6. Prepares and/or negotiates legal documents that accurately reflect the organization's rights, responsibilities and obligations and that are consistent with applicable legal requirements and organizational priorities. Ensures, to the extent possible, that documents are enforceable and are consistent with the organization's philosophy, goals and objectives.
7. In consultation with the General Counsel, determines when governmental or accrediting agency reporting, filings, or other action is required by the organization and participates in the review of such cases, as appropriate. Examples include responding to investigations by state/federal agencies such as Attorney General's Office, Department of Public Health, EEOC, and others.
8. Contributes to the articulation and development of legal advice and services and provides leadership in the development and enhancement of related systems, controls and procedures.

Standard Staffing Level Responsibilities:

1. Complies with established departmental policies, procedures and objectives.
2. Attends variety of meetings, conferences, seminars as required or directed.
3. Demonstrates use of Quality Improvement in daily operations.
4. Complies with all health and safety regulations and requirements.
5. Respects diverse views and approaches, demonstrates Standards of Respect, and contributes to creating and maintaining an environment of professionalism, tolerance, civility and acceptance toward all employees, patients and visitors.
6. Maintains, regular, reliable, and predictable attendance.
7. Performs other similar and related duties as required or directed.

All responsibilities are essential job functions.

II. Position Qualifications:

License/Certification/Education:
Required:
1. Juris Doctorate Degree from an accredited law school as well as admission to the Massachusetts state bar or eligibility for admission within one (1) year.

Experience/Skills:
Required:
1. A minimum of five (5) to seven (7) years of related experience in representation of health care clients in relevant areas described in Addendum.
2. Knowledge of federal and state health care regulations, including Fraud & Abuse, Stark, HIPAA and state licensure.

Preferred:
1. Prior in house experience.

Unless certification, licensure or registration is required, an equivalent combination of education and experience which provides proficiency in the areas of responsibility listed in this description may be substituted for the above requirements.

Department-specific competencies, including age-specific competencies, and their measurements will be developed and maintained in the individual departments. The competencies will be maintained and attached to the departmental job description. Responsible managers will review competencies with position incumbents.

III. Physical Demands and Environmental Conditions:

Work is considered sedentary. Position requires work indoors in a normal office environment.

Patient Care and Medical Staff Focus.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

We're striving to make respect a part of everything we do at UMass Memorial Health - for our patients, our community and each other. Our six Standards of Respect are: Acknowledge, Listen, Communicate, Be Responsive, Be a Team Player and Be Kind. If you share these Standards of Respect, we hope you will join our team and help us make respect our standard for everyone, every day.

As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, UMass Memorial Health recognizes the power of a diverse community and encourages applications from individuals with varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity and expression, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at talentacquisition@umassmemorial.org. We will make every effort to respond to your request for disability assistance as soon as possible.