DescriptionWe are hiring a Chief Legal Officer to own legal and regulatory strategy for the company. This is a hands-on executive role. You will be the senior legal voice on prescribing architecture, entity structure, privacy, marketing, litigation, and workforce questions, and you will do much of that work yourself while building the function around you.
The role is scoped as Chief Legal Officer only. The Chief Compliance Officer function is separately designated, so that legal strategy and compliance reporting remain distinct. We have chosen that structure deliberately, consistent with OIG and DOJ guidance on compliance program design.
Responsibilities- Controlled substances. Own the company's legal position on telemedicine prescribing under the Controlled Substances Act and the Ryan Haight Act; track DEA registration and rulemaking developments and state PDMP and examination requirements; and carry any agency inquiry or inspection.
- Clinical practice regulation. Advise on fifty-state scope-of-practice, supervision, and collaborative practice requirements; clear licensure for new state markets; and set telehealth modality and consent rules.
- Corporate structure. Draft and negotiate management services agreements, IP licenses, equity restriction and succession arrangements, and intercompany terms across the MSO and professional entities, with continuous attention to corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting boundaries.
- Fraud and abuse. Structure clinician, vendor, and partner arrangements under the Anti-Kickback Statute, EKRA, and Stark where applicable.
- Privacy and security. Apply the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules to live systems and vendors, and advise on state health privacy statutes, business associate terms, and tracking-technology and data-residency questions.
- Marketing and consumer protection. Advise Marketing on advertising substantiation, endorsement and testimonial rules, and unfair-or-deceptive-practice standards under the FTC Act; negative-option and auto-renewal requirements; TCPA consent, timing, and revocation for SMS and outbound messaging; state medical board advertising rules for telehealth prescribing; and HIPAA constraints on tracking technologies, pixels, and campaign data.
- AI and clinical product. Determine whether AI-enabled features constitute a regulated device (Software as a Medical Device) or fall within clinical decision support or general-wellness categories; build a defensible position under the state-by-state framework governing AI in mental-health care, including disclosure, crisis-response, and licensed-clinician-oversight requirements; and advise on AI's intersection with HIPAA, Section 1557 algorithmic nondiscrimination, and the federal FDA, FTC, and HHS framework.
- Litigation and disputes. Set litigation strategy, select and manage outside counsel and budget, direct litigation holds, and tender insurance.
- Workforce. Advise on clinician classification, multi-state employment compliance, separations and investigations, and executive and equity agreements.
- Commercial and payer. Negotiate payer participation agreements and vendor contracts, own the contract playbook, and oversee billing and coding compliance.
- Governance. Support board and committee process, maintain entities and foreign qualification, and keep the company diligence-ready.
Requirements- J.D. and active good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, with eligibility for in-house or registered in-house counsel status in your state of residence.
- 12+ years of combined firm and in-house practice, including at least 5 years advising healthcare providers, digital health companies, or health systems.
- Primary responsibility, not adjacent exposure, for controlled-substance regulatory advice, including the Ryan Haight Act telemedicine exceptions and the post-public-health-emergency landscape.
- Direct experience drafting and negotiating MSO and friendly-PC structures, and the ability to defend that structure against a corporate practice of medicine or fee-splitting challenge.
- HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule fluency applied to a real engineering and vendor environment, not only to policy documents.
- Healthcare marketing and consumer-protection fluency for a direct-to-consumer business: FTC advertising and substantiation standards, TCPA, state medical board advertising rules, and HIPAA marketing constraints.
- Ability to structure clinician and vendor compensation under the Anti-Kickback Statute and EKRA without routine outside counsel dependence.
- Experience carrying a government inquiry, such as an agency subpoena, civil investigative demand, board action, or licensing investigation, from receipt to resolution.
- Multi-state employment law experience, including contractor classification under both the FLSA economic realities test and state ABC tests.
- A record of building: policies, playbooks, or a legal function stood up where none existed.
Would be a plus:- Prior General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer role at a healthcare company between 100 and 1,000 employees.
- Behavioral health, psychiatry, or substance use disorder treatment experience, including 42 C.F.R. Part 2 where applicable.
- Government service at DEA, HHS OIG, a U.S. Attorney's Office, a state Attorney General's office, or a state medical or pharmacy board.
- Commercial payer contracting experience, particularly through a transition from cash-pay to insurance-reimbursed care.
- Defense experience in healthcare privacy class actions, including tracking-technology claims.
- AI governance experience across clinical tooling and vendor diligence, including Software as a Medical Device and clinical-decision-support analysis, Section 1557 algorithmic nondiscrimination, and emerging state requirements for AI in mental-health care.
- A current point of view on the DEA and HHS telemedicine controlled-substance-prescribing landscape and the forthcoming special-registration framework.
- Certification such as Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) or Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC).
What we offer- Time off: Paid time off (PTO), plus paid sick leave.
- Wellness: Dedicated wellness days each year to rest and recharge.
- Retirement: 401(k) with company matching.
- Health & insurance: QSEHRA eligibility toward medical and dental insurance coverage.
