Senior Counsel, Medical Risk Management

WHY UT SOUTHWESTERN?

With over 75 years of excellence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, UT Southwestern is committed to excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion. As a world-renowned medical and research center, we strive to provide the best possible care, resources, and benefits for our valued employees. Ranked as the number 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth according to U.S. News & World Report, we invest in you with opportunities for career growth and development to align with your future goals.

Our highly competitive benefits package offers healthcare, PTO and paid holidays, on-site childcare, wage, merit increases and so much more. We invite you to be a part of the UT Southwestern team where you'll discover a culture of teamwork, professionalism, and a rewarding career! JOB SUMMARY Join a mission-driven legal team that plays a critical role in advancing patient safety, supporting healthcare excellence, and mitigating organizational risk.

This position offers the opportunity to work directly with executive leaders, physicians, and multidisciplinary stakeholders on complex and impactful healthcare matters while shaping risk management strategies across a leading healthcare organization.

The Senior Counsel, Medical Risk Management is an experienced attorney-leader who oversees the health system's patient complaint and grievance program within the Office of Legal Affairs. This in-house counsel position offers the opportunity to provide strategic legal guidance and operational leadership in a collaborative healthcare environment.  The role is responsible for leading a team of nurse risk managers that administer a high-volume patient complaint and grievance process in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, regulations, accreditation standards, and CMS Conditions of Participation.

Reporting directly to the Assistant Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Medical Risk Management, the Senior Counsel is responsible for assessing and resolving patient complaints, grievances, and potential claims, with a focus on achieving favorable outcomes during the pre-litigation stage. The position serves as a trusted advisor to clinical, operational, quality, compliance, patient experience, and executive leadership, providing guidance on matters involving patient rights, patient safety, quality of care concerns, professional liability exposure, healthcare regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation.

The ideal candidate will possess strong legal judgment, along with exceptional interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.  Candidates with prior leadership experience are preferred.

This position is currently designated as an on-site role. Employees may be eligible for a hybrid work arrangement in the future based on successful completion of an initial onboarding and training period.

Candidates are strongly advised to provide a cover letter along with application.

BENEFITS UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:

PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
100% coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay

Paid Time Off, available day one Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
Paid Parental Leave Benefit Wellness programs

Tuition Reimbursement Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer Learn more about these and other UTSW employee benefits!

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION Required

EducationJ.D. degree from accredited law school Experience5 years of experience as a practicing attorney in the areas of medical malpractice, personal injury litigation, risk management, or health law Licenses and Certifications Must be licensed and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction and eligible for admission to the State Bar of Texas, with full Texas licensure required within six (6) months of hire Preferred Education Degree  or certificate in nursing, healthcare, health administration, public health, or similar field Experience2 years of experience successfully leading productive, high-functioning teams in a legal or healthcare setting JOB DUTIES Directly supervises, mentors and develops nurse risk managers to administer the patient complaint/grievance process in compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation.

Tracks productivity and proactively identifies trends and opportunities for improvement. Advises health system…