Senior Risk Attorney - Malpractice/Health Defense

At Houston Methodist, the Senior Risk Attorney position is responsible for risk, claims, and litigation management involving high exposure and high-profile matters. The Sr. Risk Attorney position safeguards Houston Methodist's (HM) interests by providing guidance to internal clients and acting as the organization's corporate representative in litigation and claims management. This position provides counsel to prevent, mitigate, and eliminate asset losses. The Sr. Risk Attorney position engages with management-level clients to achieve measurable outcomes. This position shepherds claims to an equitable resolution in a financially prudent manner. To achieve this, the Sr. Risk Attorney position applies relevant, advanced legal theories of civil, commercial, and employment litigation, as well as criminal, federal, and state regulations. This position formulates accurate legal analyses and reports expected losses to department leadership. In litigation management, the position coordinates HM witnesses in multi-party cases; in particular, cases involving executive leadership or sensitive matters. The Sr. Risk Attorney leads and supports team members, and meaningfully contributes to strategy planning and mediations and is responsible for ensuring a suitable balance is struck between the degree of risk tolerance and the successful delivery of healthcare services.

Requirements:

Qualifications:

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS - REQUIRED

• ATT-JD - Attorney - State Bar -- Member of the Texas State Bar in good standing within 6 months AND
• PA - Physician Assistant - State Licensure -- If previously licensed, must be eligible for reactivation within 6 months OR
• RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure and/or Compact State Licensure -- If previously licensed, must be eligible for reactivation within 6 months OR
• RN-Temp - Registered Nurse - Temporary State Licensure within 6 months OR
• RCP - Licensed Respiratory Care Practitioner - State Licensure -- If previously licensed, must be eligible for reactivation within 6 months OR
• CRT - Certified Respiratory Therapist (NBRC) -- If previously licensed, must be eligible for reactivation within 6 months

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations

• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security

• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles

• Advanced ability to process large volumes of data from multiple disciplines, discern complex legal-risk issues, and thoughtfully recommend professional business solutions to avoid risk of litigation

• Exceptional communication skills and ability to interact effectively and politely with people with varying backgrounds. Ability to maintain composure and invoke confidence in difficult situations

• Ability to creatively and successfully support business units undergoing change management

• Strong analytical skills and ability to make thoughtful decisions and provide risk-avoiding, legally-sound direction that comports with HM's I CARE Values and risk and litigation management strategic plan, and the circumstances as they present

• Ability to create a plan for, and execute, accurate claim evaluation

• Advanced knowledge and application of case law, statutes, and trends related to medical malpractice

• Ability to quickly and creatively solve novel complex medical-legal-social issues

• Independent and creative problem solving skills

• Working knowledge of litigation financing and ability to direct outside counsel to ensure legal reserves are prudently used

• Intermediate knowledge of operational structure necessary to support optimal healthcare delivery and working knowledge of hospital operations in the U.S.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform No
• Scrubs No
• Business professional Yes
• Other (department approved) No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. DIsaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* Yes

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area Yes

Company Profile:

Houston Methodist is one of the nation’s leading health systems and academic medical centers. Houston Methodist consists of eight hospitals: Houston Methodist Hospital, its flagship academic hospital in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, and seven community hospitals throughout the greater Houston area. Houston Methodist also includes an academic institute, a comprehensive residency program, a global business division, numerous physician practices and several free-standing emergency rooms and outpatient facilities. Overall, Houston Methodist employs more than 27,000 employees and is supported by a wide variety of business functions that operate at the system level to help enable clinical departments to provide high quality patient care.

Houston Methodist is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Equal employment opportunity is a sound and just concept to which Houston Methodist is firmly bound. Houston Methodist will not engage in discrimination against or harassment of any person employed or seeking employment with Houston Methodist on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, status as a protected veteran or other characteristics protected by law. VEVRAA Federal Contractor – priority referral Protected Veterans requested.