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Company:  The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It is the only campus in the 10-campus UC system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences. They bring together the world’s leading experts in nearly every area of health. They are home to five Nobel laureates who have advanced the understanding of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, aging and stem cells.
UCSF is a diverse community made of people with many skills and talents. They seek candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to their commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity, and excellence – also known as PRIDE values.
In addition to PRIDE values, UCSF is committed to equity – both in how they deliver care as well as their workforce. UCSF is committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Additional information is available at diversity.ucsf.edu.

Description:  The Chief Counsel, UCSF leads the legal function for the health system, and student health and counseling center at the UCSF campus. The position reports to the Chief Campus Counsel and the Deputy General Counsel – Health Affairs & Technology Law and serves on the executive team for UCSF Health. The Chief Health Counsel also serves as a member of the UC Legal Health Law Section and UCSF Health executive leadership teams and is the primary legal advisor to the UCSF Health Offices of the Vice Chancellor – Health Sciences, the Chief Executive Officer of the Health System.

Travel:   Within California     
Relos:  Yes
Compensation:  Commensurate with experience.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage the local legal affairs budget for the UCSF Health enterprise. Manage outside counsel expenditures in certain cases, and assist managing outside counsel expenditures in other cases. Leverage internal and external legal resources to maximize benefits for the clients. Supervise pursuit of affirmative recoveries where appropriate and insure positive ROI for clients in such cases.
• Provide legal and strategic advice and regulatory counseling to the UCSF Health executive team and local governing body, including proactive advice and guidance across a wide range of legal and regulatory subject matter areas.
• Lead and coordinate the provision of legal services to UCSF Health by both in-house and external counsel.
• This position will also be a member of the UCSF Health executive team and a thought leader in their field, responsible for participating in the formulation of UCSF Health strategy and policy, aligning UCSF Health business strategies with legal requirements, and identifying innovative solutions to complex problems.
• The successful candidate will be charged with managing across organizational lines to transition a dispersed set of independent assurance and advocacy functions to effectively reduce enterprise legal risk.
• The incumbent will understand and anticipate current and future industry trends, systemwide, and UCSF Health challenges and opportunities, and will educate and drive prioritization of key issues in coordination with peers and stakeholders.
• They will also serve as secretary and principal advisor to UCSF Health’s leadership on questions of internal governance and related strategy.
• Engage with other responsible units across the UCSF Health enterprise to provide guidance and ensure a coordinated, comprehensive, and expansive, approach to legal and regulatory risk mitigation.
• Lead and advise as requested by UCSF Health CEO, major improvement, and remediation initiatives in identified areas of major enterprise risk.
• Designated as the responsible executive officer to regularly convene and advise UCSF Health leaders in the areas of compliance, risk management, audit, and regulatory departments to ensure an integrated and effective interdisciplinary program to best serve the enterprise.
• Oversee delivery of all legal services to UCSF Health, in collaboration with other campus and UC Legal attorneys as appropriate. Retain and oversee the work of outside counsel consistent with UC Legal delegations.
• Manage all outside counsel retentions to maximize the benefit of purchased legal services and leverage UC resources.
• Support, directly, or through staff, systemwide and regional UC Health initiatives requiring health law expertise. Participate in UC Legal systemwide strategic, administrative, and educational initiatives as requested.
• Serve in an ex officio capacity as a non-voting legal advisor to various administrative committees as assigned or otherwise deemed appropriate; attend all meetings of the UCSF Health Executive Team and other committees or working groups as designated by the CEO UCSF Health and the Chief Campus Counsel. Provide regular reports to the Chief Campus Counsel and the Deputy General Counsel – Health Affairs & Technology Law.
• Maintain a substantial physical presence on campus as deemed necessary to supervise legal functions and participate in administrative activities as identified above.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of previous management or supervisory experience and/or significant project management experience providing legal services to health care organizations.
• Specific knowledge of academic medical centers, hospital operations and financing, medical group operations and reimbursements, and graduate medical education programs, particularly in California.
• Superior writing and analytical skills based on substantial experience advising complex organizations with interaction between legal entities.
• Excellent judgement, unshakable ethics, spot-on risk evaluation and assessment in the context of maintaining and preserving institutional goals including the highest ethical standards, quality, access and equity.
• Ability to work collaboratively across administrative and academic units and to build consensus. Resilience, compassion, flexibility, open to change.
• Licensed to practice law in California (California’s Registered In-House Counsel Program is not available to University of California attorneys). Out-of-state candidates must take and pass the California Bar Exam within one year of hire and will be subject to direct supervision during that year.
• JD required.
• Excellent academic and professional qualifications.
• Excellent references.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with complex medical staff/employment matters and litigation.
• Demonstrated experience in change-oriented operational management, including Lean process improvement and people leadership.
• Exceptional ability to draft accurate, complete, and persuasive legal documents, such as pleadings, legal responses, affidavits, position statements and briefs.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead and motivate a professional team to meet high client service expectations in an extremely visible organization.
• Prior experience as General Counsel or In House Counsel to large, complex, Health Care organization or system.

All interested and qualified candidates should apply directly with Major, Lindsey & Africa for review and consideration.

About Major, Lindsey & Africa

Founded in 1982, Major, Lindsey & Africa is the world’s largest and most experienced legal search firm. Combining local market knowledge and a global recruiting network, MLA has earned recognition for its track record of successful General Counsel, Corporate Counsel, Partner, Associate and Law Firm Management placements. With offices throughout the U.S., Hong Kong, London, and Tokyo, MLA recruiters are dedicated to understanding and meeting clients’ and candidates’ needs while maintaining the highest degree of professionalism and confidentiality. MLA considers every search a diversity search, and has been committed to diversity in the law since its inception. For these reasons, MLA was voted “Best Legal Search Firm in the U.S.” in the most recent national survey of America’s top law firms. To learn more about MLA, please visit our website at www.mlaglobal.com.

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