Executive Director, Legal Services

Position Summary

This position is responsible for providing leadership in the development, implementation, and oversight of standards, systems, policies, and procedures for the delivery of legal services for assigned areas of responsibility, in alignment and in furtherance of system strategic goals and ongoing operations, ensuring a collaborative, open, and inclusive work environment that is focused on quality of outcomes and superior client service orientation.

Core Functions

• Provides leadership in development, implementation, and oversight of system-wide/regional standards, programs, and/or systems for the delivery of legal services for assigned areas of responsibility in order to achieve desired and integrated strategic business initiatives, objectives, and outcomes in compliance with legal parameters.
• Holds legal department staff accountable for achieving performance and productivity targets within budgetary parameters.
• Works with legal department staff to identify and resolve the most complex issues and problems impacting legal department services and operations.
• Develops staff to ensure continued professional growth and to provide the competencies the company needs to support its growth and long-term success.
• Articulates and demonstrates an expectation for continuous quality improvement utilizing processes that include consideration of all stakeholders.
• Fosters an environment that focuses on processes, outcomes and excellent client service.
• Maintains an effective internal control environment within the legal department to ensure that assets are safeguarded, policies and operating procedures are followed, necessary controls are effective and efficient, proper compliance with existing laws and regulations achieved, and operations comply with the legal and regulatory parameters in which they operate.
• Monitors legal developments in healthcare or general corporate environment to identify emerging risks to the company and new competencies to be developed within the legal department.
• Helps provide oversight of development, performance and quality of contract management and review operations of the legal department.
• Directs the development and integration of new and innovative operations and/or services by providing leadership that maximizes legal department staff contributions and assures timely decision-making and execution of initiatives, projects and ongoing operations.
• Participates in the evaluation, selection and oversight of outside counsel, monitors performance of outside counsel, participates in the management and maintenance of relationships with outside counsel, and provides specific direct oversight of outside counsel and coordination with internal parties for major litigation and transactional matters as assigned by the General Counsel.
• Performs direct legal services in areas of assigned responsibility, including representation of Banner in negotiations, participation in document preparation and review, coordination with outside counsel and internal parties, and completion of transactions and other matters.

Minimum Qualifications

• JD from an American Bar Association accredited school; admission to a state bar association (admission to the State Bar of Arizona is a post-employment requirement).
• At least twelve years of experience in the practice of law.
• Knowledge of operations of in-house legal departments or law firms, and management and supervisory responsibility, as normally obtained through progressively responsible managerial experience in in-house legal department, law firm operations, or both.
• Strong legal skills and experience, including first chair responsibility for significant matters.
• Strong financial and business acumen.
• Broad general knowledge of wide variety of substantive areas of the law likely to be encountered by a large and diverse integrated healthcare organization, including corporate governance, labor and employment, general contracting, antitrust, intellectual property, joint ventures, information technology and IT security, litigation procedures, and overall regulatory environment.
• Knowledge of budgeting and forecasting methodologies.
• Skilled in effectively engaging management level staff, employees, and stakeholders in order to build working relationships, achieve strategic and organizational goals; managing problems and situations where uncertainty is inherent; constructing new and innovative solutions for complex and varying problems and situations while approaching issues/problems by considering the larger perspective or context; mentoring and coaching management level staff (including attorneys) by providing open and honest feedback that results in enhanced performance outcomes; effectively allocating resources in order to accomplish organizational goals; quickly assessing and assimilating organizational and industry dynamics and overall healthcare legal environment in order to make appropriate decisions and act quickly on new initiatives.
• Leadership style and characteristics necessary to effectively perform in this role include: systems-thinker; innovative; critical thinker; strong analytical abilities; business acumen; collaborator; ability to work with teams; good listening; nonvolatile; values multiple disciplines; effective public speaker; ability to present legal issues effectively to a wide range of audiences with varying levels of sophistication; and passionate about continuous improvement and providing high quality service to our customers.