General Counsel - Executive

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Description:

The General Counsel serves as the primary legal advisor for a behavioral healthcare organization operating a behavioral health hospital and affiliated companies across Kentucky, New Mexico and North Carolina. This position provides comprehensive legal counsel to executive leadership, corporate boards, and operational leaders on a broad range of legal, regulatory, compliance, governance, employment, and business matters.

The General Counsel partners with leadership to proactively identify legal risks, develop practical solutions, and ensure compliance with applicable federal and state laws while supporting the organization's mission of providing high-quality behavioral healthcare services. This position also provides leadership and supervision to Associate Counsel and other legal department personnel while fostering a collaborative, service-oriented legal function.

Why Join Our Team?

• Competitive pay
• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, and Telehealth benefits
• Paid time off plus 9 paid holidays
• Retirement plan options
• Tuition reimbursement and free CEUs
• Clinical supervision and professional development
• Wellness and Employee Assistance Programs
• Mileage reimbursement for work-related travel
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer
• Eligible clinical positions may qualify for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Executive Leadership and Strategic Legal Counsel

• Serve as principal legal advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, executive leadership team, and Boards of Directors.
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice that balances legal risk with operational objectives.
• Participate in executive leadership and board meetings as legal counsel.
• Analyze legal risks associated with strategic initiatives and recommend solutions.
• Assist leadership with organizational planning, business strategy, affiliations, and expansion initiatives.
• Maintain attorney-client privilege and confidentiality while fostering trusted relationships across the organization.

Legal Department Leadership

• Supervise, mentor, and provide professional development for Associate Counsel and other legal department staff.
• Assign and prioritize legal work to ensure timely and effective support for organizational operations.
• Establish legal department priorities, workflows, and best practices.
• Review work product prepared by Associate Counsel to ensure consistency, quality, and legal sufficiency.

Contract Negotiation and Management

• Draft, negotiate, review, interpret, and revise a broad range of agreements, including, but not limited to:
  • Physician and provider agreements
  • Managed care and payer agreements
  • Information technology and software licensing agreements
  • Real estate purchase, lease, and construction agreements
• Advise leadership regarding contractual obligations and business risk.

Healthcare Regulatory Compliance

• Develop and maintain expertise regarding federal and state healthcare laws affecting behavioral health providers, hospitals, outpatient services, and affiliated companies.
• Advise leadership regarding compliance with healthcare regulations and accreditation standards.
• Assist with oversight of the Corporate Compliance Program.

Working knowledge should include, but not be limited to:

• HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules
• Medicaid and Medicare regulatory requirements
• Federal and state employment and labor laws
• False Claims Act
• Behavioral health licensing regulations
• Hospital licensing requirements
• Confidentiality of substance use disorder records (42 CFR Part 2)

Employment Law

• Provide legal guidance regarding employment and labor matters.
• Advise Human Resources and executive leadership regarding:
  • Workplace investigations
  • Wage and hour compliance
  • FMLA
  • ADA accommodations
  • Title VII and other anti-discrimination laws
• Assist with EEOC charges, state agency complaints, and employment litigation in coordination with outside counsel.

General Governance

• Advise Boards of Directors regarding governance responsibilities and fiduciary duties.
• Prepare and review board resolutions, bylaws, governance policies, and corporate records.

Policy Development

• Draft, review, revise, and maintain organizational policies and procedures.
• Ensure organizational policies comply with changing legal and regulatory requirements.
• Collaborate with operational leaders to implement legally compliant policies.

Litigation and Claims Management

• Manage litigation, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, and government investigations through outside counsel.
• Evaluate litigation risk and recommend litigation strategy.
• Coordinate discovery, document preservation, witness preparation, and settlement discussions.
• Oversee outside legal counsel, including budgeting and performance.
• Respond to subpoenas, search warrants, records requests, and regulatory inquiries.

Risk Management

• Identify legal and operational risks throughout the organization.
• Assist with enterprise risk management initiatives.
• Support incident investigations involving potential legal exposure.
• Review adverse events, sentinel events, and claims from a legal risk perspective.
• Collaborate with insurance carriers regarding liability, professional malpractice, employment practices liability, cyber liability, and other claims.

Privacy and Information Governance

• Provide legal guidance regarding privacy and confidentiality.
• Support the Privacy Officer regarding HIPAA compliance and breach response.

Education and Training

• Develop and deliver legal and compliance education for executives, managers, boards, medical staff, and employees.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in Kentucky.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible legal experience, preferably in healthcare law or as in-house counsel.
• Demonstrated experience supervising attorneys or legal professionals.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating and drafting complex commercial agreements.
• Experience advising executive leadership and governing boards.
• Knowledge of healthcare regulatory compliance and employment law.
• Excellent analytical, negotiation, communication, and legal writing skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities independently.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deputy General Counsel or General Counsel experience
• Seven or more years of healthcare legal experience.
• Experience serving as in-house counsel for a hospital, health system, behavioral health organization, physician group, or healthcare services company.
• Experience supporting multi-state healthcare operations.
• Experience with acquisitions, affiliations, and corporate transactions.
• Experience working with nonprofit healthcare entities.
• Familiarity with government audits and investigations.
• Experience with board governance and corporate compliance programs.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of healthcare law, corporate law, contract law, employment law, and regulatory compliance.
• Strong understanding of hospital and behavioral healthcare operations.
• Excellent legal drafting and contract negotiation skills.
• Ability to provide timely, practical, and solution-oriented legal advice.
• Strong business acumen and strategic thinking.
• Ability to influence decision-making while maintaining collaborative relationships.
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, and integrity.
• Ability to effectively manage outside counsel and legal budgets.
• Ability to independently research and interpret evolving federal and state laws.
• Excellent presentation and training skills.

Working Conditions

This position may require periodic travel to affiliated facilities in multiple states, including New Mexico and North Carolina, attendance at board meetings, and occasional work outside normal business hours to address urgent legal matters. The position routinely handles confidential, privileged, and highly sensitive information.

Position Expectations

The General Counsel is expected to maintain current knowledge of developments in healthcare law, employment law, corporate governance, privacy, and regulatory compliance. The successful candidate will serve as a trusted advisor to leadership, promote ethical business practices, support a culture of compliance, and provide practical legal solutions that advance the organization's mission while minimizing legal and regulatory risk.