Counsel II, Litigation

Counsel II, Litigation

In addition to the responsibilities listed below, this position is also responsible for developing outside counsel relationships with a team of litigators to craft overall litigation strategy with the objective of implementing or facilitating company-wide business objectives and for portfolios of high reputational and economic significance and implementing strategies for cost control and mitigation; collaborating with the business to implement key changes and ensuring alignment with overall business strategy; collaborating and communicating business groups, government, clinical, and other groups within KP to ensure achievement towards a common goal; and providing practical and effective legal advice and promoting proactive strategies to prevent, mitigate and resolve legal, regulatory and enterprise risk. This position is responsible for engaging in relationships with a team of lawyers to facilitate efficient and proactive legal services; dealing with low-risk cases; discussing the necessary remediation of identified risk areas over the course of an investigation; and implementing guidelines and standards. The position is also responsible for developing arguments in preparation of cases; representing KP during legal proceedings, mediation, and negotiation of settlements; providing strategic legal advice and working on complex risk initiatives, remediation, and/or compliance projects; monitoring adherence to legal obligations and settlement agreements; reviewing, evaluating, and aligning team efforts on resolving complex and unique claims and lawsuits related to unique subject matter expertise; advising the enterprise on complex legal and risk matters; and identifying operational concerns and collaborating with the enterprise to approve solutions to complex concerns.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Promotes learning in others by communicating information and providing advice to drive projects forward; builds relationships with cross-functional stakeholders. Listens, responds to, seeks, and addresses performance feedback; provides actionable feedback to others, including upward feedback to leadership and mentors junior team members. Practices self-leadership; creates and executes plans to capitalize on strengths and improve opportunity areas; influences team members within assigned team or unit. Adapts to competing demands and new responsibilities; adapts to and learns from change, challenges, and feedback. Models team collaboration within and across teams.
• Conducts or oversees business-specific projects by applying deep expertise in subject area; promotes adherence to all procedures and policies. Partners internally and externally to make effective business decisions; determines and carries out processes and methodologies; solves complex problems; escalates high-priority issues or risks, as appropriate; monitors progress and results. Develops work plans to meet business priorities and deadlines; coordinates and delegates resources to accomplish organizational goals. Recognizes and capitalizes on improvement opportunities; evaluates recommendations made; influences the completion of project tasks by others.
• Participates in the creation, review, and negotiation of legal documents by: preparing, drafting, creating, and leading conversations on complex and nuanced written legal advice, contracts, and/or other documents related to subject matter expertise; reviewing work product of others; and serving as an expert and prime contact to clients and other legal professionals (e.g., counsel, paralegals, and legal assistants).
• Performs and analyzes legal research by: leveraging in-depth and advanced knowledge to interpret and review legal documents (e.g., contracts, memoranda, and policies); ensuring completion of complex research and analyses of case law and statutory/regulatory authority including but not limited to federal and state laws, rules, regulations, accreditation standards, and/or other applicable guidance; identifying complex industry patterns and trends impacting legal questions or issues; and identifying key insights from the research findings and legal analysis to communicate with cross-functional senior business stakeholders to design program-wide strategy and critical business decisions.
• Assesses legal risk and/or provides legal guidance by: utilizing advanced knowledge of legal principles, business risks, regulatory landscape, and compliance considerations to legal advice and review recommendations on matters critical to the organization; furthering the development of legal strategies for senior business stakeholders and driving the creation of solutions to mitigate legal risks, advance program-wide business strategy, and drive Kaiser Permanente-s mission; collaborating with internal and outside counsel on complex legal matters; driving communication with attorneys to leverage and share expertise and resources in a highly matrixed environment; and engaging other junior-level attorneys and other legal professionals or guiding more junior attorneys in their area of expertise.
• Contributes to legal planning and strategy by: proactively contributing to the creation of legal strategies for the implementation of cutting-edge solutions to unique issues; partnering with others to resolve complex legal issues through collaborative effort among legal colleagues and stakeholders; providing recommendations to stakeholders on health plan and/or care delivery business and/or clinical strategies; partnering with regulatory services and government relations on Kaiser Permanente-s advocacy strategies to address legislative, regulatory, and litigation risks; and guiding others on the development of responses to regulatory actions as appropriate for practice areas (e.g., audits and enforcement actions).

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum two (2) years of experience in litigation (discovery, law & motion, experts, pre-trial, trial/arbitration).
• Juris Doctorate (JD) or equivalent (e.g., Legum Baccalaureus [LLBs], Legum Magister [LLMs], and Postgraduate Certificate in Laws [PCLLs]) AND minimum five (5) years of experience as a practicing lawyer.

• State Bar License (California)

Additional Requirements:

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Negotiation; Business Acumen; Reputational Management; Risk Identification; Legal Claims Management

Preferred Qualifications:

• One (1) year of experience in healthcare-related government investigations, government enforcement actions/litigation, and internal investigations involving False Claims Act, Stark Law, or Anti-Kickback Statutes.
• Two (2) years of experience in government investigations, government enforcement actions/litigation, and internal investigations.