Chief Legal Officer

The Chief Legal Officer (CLO) is responsible for all legal affairs across UCHealth and serves as the primary legal advisor to the CEO, the organization's senior management team, the Board of Directors and the system. As a member of the senior executive leadership team, the CLO will lead and manage the legal function and has primary responsibility to provide appropriate, effective and timely legal advice. In addition, the CLO manages the spectrum of legal services provided to all UCHealth operating divisions and units through UCHealth's in-house legal department and outside counsel.

The responsibilities for this position include the provision of advice to the Board of Directors, senior management and other executives within UCHealth; development of organizational legal strategies with respect to anticipated nation-wide changes in health care delivery and regulatory changes; the drafting, revision and final review of corporate governing documents, contracts and other binding obligations of UCHealth; leading, evaluating and developing the in-house legal department; selecting, managing and coordinating with outside legal counsel. This position also directs the VP of Regulatory Compliance and the VP of Government Affairs. 

Reporting to the President & CEO of UCHealth, CLO must be a hands-on, strategic legal executive and counselor. The CLO will work closely with the legal department and direct reports to strengthen UCHealth's legal function and drive strategic initiatives during a time of transformation and growth.

Reporting Relationships

Reports to: President & CEO

Direct Reports: the senior in-house attorney from each of the three UCHealth regions, the Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and the Vice President of Government and Corporation Relations           

Specific Responsibilities

Serves as the senior legal advisor in the organization, maintaining a trusted and close relationship with the President & CEO, acting as a top advisor, business partner and confidant;
Manages UCHealth's legal department, system regulatory compliance and government affairs;
Represents the legal interests of UCHealth in contact with outside parties, including attorneys and officials of other companies and government agencies;
Advises the Board of Directors and maintains responsibility for leadership and oversight of all legal affairs including governance, risk, regulatory and compliance;
Manages Board operations including preparation of materials for Board meetings, influencing the structure of agendas and advising on various issues such as corporate governance, fiduciary duties and strategic transactions;
Works closely with the Chief Human Resource Officer and external advisors on agendas and minutes of the Executive Compensation Committee of the Board to ensure compliance with all governing bodies.
Fosters and maintains a close working relationship with the Managing Associate University Counsel for the Anschutz Medical Campus and the School of Medicine and with the Chief Legal Officer for The Children's Hospital of Colorado.
Advises on major contracts and transactions, physician agreements, regulatory compliance, tax-exempt bonds and other financing agreements, litigation, research and intellectual property matters, labor and employment issues, medical staff and patient care matters;
Serves as the principal legal advisor on M&A activities;
Possesses working knowledge of prospective laws and regulations that will affect UCHealth; monitors and advises UCHealth leadership on proposed or expected revisions to existing laws and regulations;
Supervises litigation involving UCHealth or any of its related entities;
Selects and manages outside counsel to represent the interests of UCHealth in state and federal courts and other public and private administrative agencies to reach optimum conclusions;
Develops and leads a strong, appropriately structured, cost-effective legal department;
Oversees the legal department including directing the legal services provided by department attorneys, working with each attorney to develop requisite skills and breadth of legal knowledge, training/managing staff and holding staff accountable for performance and continuous monitoring and measuring of department performance compared to appropriate benchmarks;
Develops standards for the provision of legal services to improve quality and reduce cost, including the development of templates, guidelines, legal documents, and policies;
Understands and communicates legal issues affecting the operations of the system, including applicable law and regulatory matters, and acts to ensure that the system operates within those legal parameters;
Maintains a working knowledge of applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations;
Participates as a senior member of management, working directly with the corporate executive team to understand strategic initiatives and business needs, to provide legal and business counsel and establish and influence appropriate ethical standards and legal considerations which must be taken into account when decisions are made;
Develops, implements and manages a strategic plan for the provision of legal services in accordance with and in support of business objectives;
 

Candidate Qualifications

The culture at UCHealth is results driven, and each member has high expectations for themselves as well as those with whom they partner and lead. This individual will be joining a high performing, fast-paced executive team and, as such, we have outlined characteristics that describe the ideal candidate for the Chief Legal Officer role:

Candidates will be comfortable working in a fast-paced academic organization. They will exude honesty, respect, trust, integrity and high ethical standards and serve in a supportive, open and direct manner.

The successful candidate will meet the following requirements:

Education/Certification

 A J.D. from an accredited law school.
At least 15 years of relevant professional legal experience in the practice of health law. Preference may be given to qualified candidates with previous in-house experience in comparable academic healthcare systems.
Licensed to practice law in the state of Colorado. 
 

Qualifications, Skills and Traits

Experience in complex and logistics-driven businesses.
Substantial experience and confidence negotiating complex business transactions.
Ability to mobilize stakeholders outside of his/her individual span of control.
An outstanding listener. Someone who facilitates an open exchange of ideas and fosters an atmosphere of open communication.
Demonstrates strong people skills, including being perceived as genuinely caring, warm, empathetic, fair, motivating and positive.
Comfortable making decisions with imperfect information. Decisive. Self-motivated and focused on achieving system and legal department goals.
Clear and direct communicator.
A trustworthy associate who is able to give "unvarnished opinions" as to what is best for the organization.
Experience managing a Legal Department consisting of at least 5 attorneys.
In-depth knowledge of all aspects of federal and Colorado health care laws including general principles of federal and state reimbursement programs, CMS Conditions of Participation and Provider-Based Rules, Joint Commission Standards,  the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) laws and regulations, anti-fraud statutes and programs including the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark law and all phases of Stark law regulations, False Claims Act and Civil Monetary Penalty Act, EMTALA, HIPAA and Colorado statutes applicable to UCHealth interests including the hospital licensing, Medical Practice Act and related regulations.
Solid health care experience is required including the areas of hospital/health care business operations and contracting, hospital/physician contracting; business transactions including joint ventures, mergers/acquisitions/dispositions and financings; health care regulatory and legal compliance, with an excellent understanding of major federal laws, applicable state laws and related regulations that govern the provision of not-for-profit health care services.
Experience representing hospital systems is strongly preferred.
The ability to work on several complex and time-sensitive projects at one time with excellent organizational skills and judgement.
Proven ability to quickly gain credibility in order to influence and partner with physicians, caregivers, employees and business leaders.
Experienced at getting individuals, teams, and an entire organization to perform at a higher level and to embrace change; negotiates skillfully to achieve a fair outcome or promote a common cause; inspires others and understands what motivates different people.
Demonstrated executive presence with the knowledge base and stature to deliver advice in a manner that is respected and valued by the Board, executive team, and business and staff group leaders and other internal and external constituents.