Deputy General Counsel

About the organization

Bronson Healthcare is a not-for-profit, community-owned integrated health system with deep roots in southwest Michigan. Founded in 1901, Bronson has grown from a single hospital into a regional system serving communities across Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Paw Paw, South Haven and the surrounding region. With more than 9,500 employees, 1,700 medical staff members and 747 licensed beds, Bronson is the largest employer and leading healthcare system in the region. Bronson has continued to grow while preserving its independence in an increasingly competitive and consolidating healthcare market. Following a recent strategic planning process, the organization has established priorities through 2030 that include expanding access, developing high-value service lines, and investing in its ambulatory footprint. The next phase of growth will require disciplined execution across service-line expansion, real estate, partnerships and potential strategic transactions, while navigating ongoing payer, reimbursement, regulatory, workforce, privacy and cybersecurity pressures.

About the role

The Deputy General Counsel will serve as a senior legal leader and enterprise-wide strategic advisor, reporting to Bronson's Senior Vice President, Legal & Legislative Affairs and General Counsel. The Deputy General Counsel will partner closely with the President and Chief Executive Officer, senior leadership, the Board of Directors, physician and operational leaders, and other key stakeholders on matters central to Bronson's strategy, operations and long-term growth. This is a broad generalist role requiring the ability to move comfortably between enterprise-level strategy and hands-on execution. A central mandate will be to further establish Legal as a proactive business and strategic partner, strengthen internal capabilities, optimize the use of outside counsel and help leaders navigate complex issues with clear, practical and commercially grounded advice. The role will be based at Bronson's headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and requires a regular onsite presence.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a principal legal advisor to executive leadership and the Board on corporate, governance, operational and strategic matters.
• Lead and support strategic transactions and growth initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, affiliations, partnerships, physician arrangements, service-line expansion and facility development.
• Provide legal counsel across healthcare regulatory matters, including Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, HIPAA/HITECH, EMTALA, False Claims Act, Medicare and Medicaid requirements, and other applicable federal and state laws.
• Lead the drafting and negotiation of complex commercial agreements and advise on Bronson's real estate and facilities portfolio.
• Counsel leadership on litigation, investigations, employment matters, enterprise risk and other significant legal issues, while strategically managing outside counsel.
• Assess the Legal function's capabilities and resource needs as Bronson grows, identifying opportunities to strengthen internal capabilities, bring appropriate work in-house and optimize external legal spend.
• Build strong relationships across the organization and provide practical, solutions-oriented counsel that balances legal risk with Bronson's mission, patient interests and strategic objectives.

Requirements

The successful candidate will be a healthcare attorney with broad legal and business experience who can operate credibly across legal, regulatory, transactional and operational matters within a complex health system. They will understand how legal and business issues intersect, identify what matters most and provide clear, pragmatic advice that enables sound enterprise decision-making.

The ideal candidate will bring:

• A J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in good standing, with eligibility to practice law in Michigan.
• Significant progressive legal experience within a hospital, health system or other complex provider organization, or within a sophisticated law firm practice serving health system clients; meaningful in-house healthcare experience is strongly valued.
• Broad healthcare regulatory experience and familiarity with the legal and operational issues facing integrated provider organizations.
• Experience supporting strategic growth initiatives, complex transactions and commercial contracting.
• Experience advising senior executives and Boards on governance, enterprise risk and sensitive legal matters.
• The leadership capability to assess and strengthen a legal function, including its talent, workflows, internal capabilities and use of outside counsel.
• Strong judgment, executive presence and a collaborative, low-ego style, with the ability to build trust across executives, physicians, operational leaders and other stakeholders.
• A practical, solutions-oriented mindset; comfortable giving clear advice and making thoughtful risk trade-offs.
• Respect for Bronson's history and institutional knowledge, paired with the confidence to bring a fresh perspective and thoughtfully evolve the function.
• A long-term orientation and genuine interest in Bronson's mission and communities.