Thursday, December 12, 2013

Legal Healthcare Jobs in Hospitals

There is growing importance of health law as a specialized legal practice in recent years. The changing legislative landscape, health reform and mergers and acquisitions create large systems requiring expansion of in-house legal staff of healthcare organizations. Hospitals that previously outsourced their legal needs to a law firm can now hire their own in-house team of lawyers.

In-House Legal Teams – Healthcare Career Opportunities


General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, and Chief Legal Officers are healthcare jobs for legal counsel and have witnesses steady growth as health law itself has grown more important and complex. Also in the midst of widespread consolidation, physician practices, clinics, hospitals and other health centers are merging into vast networks which require expanded in-house legal departments.

Recent & Projected Future Growth

Health law experts predict that there will be continuous increases in legal activity and expenditures in the years to come. This would further bring increasing roles of general counsel and other senior legal executives. Thus with such activity the expansion of in-house legal departments will be used as a cost-saving measure as it is less expensive than relying heavily upon outside legal counsel.

Skill Sets and Experience

Health law executives must prove that they are more than technical experts in their field. They must also show successful leadership skills and behaviors. Particularly, they must be able to assert their influence among their executive peers and inspire and mentor those who serve on their legal teams. Additionally, one also expects them to understand the business of healthcare and running a hospital.

Search for Law related Healthcare Jobs

Executive search firms and recruiters are frequently hired by healthcare organizations to help identify potential legal leaders and to assess and train their in-house teams. They also look to other industries in the recruitment of legal executives. Traditional methods of job search such as networking and searching online are also employed.

Lawyers within healthcare organizations are taking on greater responsibilities that include shaping policy, assessing risk and leading government relations. Salaries for health law executives have grown with their increasing demand. At the same time private law firms are also creating and expanding health law practices.

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