Moderna – Remote (Memphis, TN) February 2023 to Present
Associate Counsel, Commercial & Medical Affairs
Contracts Management & Specialty
- Provide legal advice and guidance to the US commercial and Medical Affairs teams,
- Act as primary legal counsel point of contact for all US contracts,
- Collaborate in cross-functional activities including compliance, Global procurement, federal contracting,
Health Economic and Outcomes Research, Privacy and Security, sales and marketing, digital, and retail business teams,
- Develop and edit contract templates to fit business needs and processes,
- Identify areas for improvement within the organization for AI solutions.
- Create ChatGPT modules to assist business with basic legal and internal process steps.
Axiom – Remote (Memphis, TN)
June 2021 to February 2023
Attorney
- Provide commercial and clinical contracting support services
- Support regional hospital system in negotiating clinical research agreements
- Create contract templates
- Assist Procurement teams with contract negotiations
- Assist due diligence review of commercial contracts
- Negotiate wide variety of commercial contracts including but not limited to Business Associate
Agreements, Master Services Agreements, Independent Contractor Agreements, Nondisclosure
Agreements, Medical Device and Pharmaceutical sponsorship agreements, Payer contracts.
Consilio Services f/k/a Legility – Memphis, TN 2018 to 2021
Attorney
- Support legal procurement division of global manufacturing client in the review, drafting, redlining, and negotiation of a wide range of commercial contracts for goods and services.
- Provide referral source regulatory auditing assistance to a large multistate healthcare system.
- Provide in-house legal counsel by assisting the legal team of an international transportations and shipping organization with contract drafting and negotiations as well as regulatory and corporate compliance activities related to international trade, transportation, customs and brokerage.
- Specific work included international data protections, international anti-bribery laws, international contracts, cross border issues as well as technology, vendor and supplier, warehousing, and service agreements.
Consultant – Memphis, TN 2017 - 2018
- Provided onboard training for contract negotiators and assisted with document review and negotiations as needed.
Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation – Memphis, TN 2013 – 2017
Staff Attorney
- Primarily responsible for handling day-to-day contractual and operational issues including, but not limited to, state and federal contracts, procurement, vendor and supplier agreements, clinical research contracts
Corporate governance and healthcare regulatory compliance matters, contracts with referral sources thatrequire compliance with the Stark and Anti-kickback statutes, physician and other professional services contracts, leases, patient consent matters, EMTALA questions and issues, human resources matters including EEOC and employment litigation and various other legal issues confronting a major health care organization on a short turnaround time basis
- General corporate business and transactional responsibilities including providing legal counsel to Baptist
Memorial Health Care Corporation and its affiliates including Baptist College of Health Sciences by researching and making recommendations based on federal and state statutes to physicians, staff,
management, administration, and executive leadership
- Interacted with corporate procurement, compliance and audit staff, vendors and regulatory agencies
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute – Little Rock, AR 2003 - 2013
Contracts Attorney/Human Protections Administrator
- Transactional Responsibilities included but not limited to drafting, reviewing and negotiating a variety of complex legal documents related to general business activities including sponsored research, federal, state and industrial contracts, procurement contracts, clinical research agreements, legal memoranda,
commercial contracts, leases, affiliation agreements, and consultation service agreements.
- Coordinated activities related to material transfers, export control, invention disclosures, licensing agreements, confidentiality agreements and other technology transfer activities.
- Reviewed corporate compliance matters.
- Served as Human Subjects Research Protections Administrator.
- Reviewed contracts for legal sufficiency and potential risk/liabilities.
- Worked with staff to ensure institutional and regulatory standards were met.
- Directed the investigation of regulatory misconduct claims.
- Acted as consultant for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ institutional review board and participated on its Patent and Copyright Committee.
- Directed, developed, and implemented policies and procedures to ensure that the institution operated in accordance with current federal, state and local laws, regulations, standards and/or guidelines.
- Directed the development and implementation of regulatory compliance education and training programs including drafting and maintaining effective lines of communication across the affiliated institutions and departments and directing internal monitoring and auditing activities as well as the development of quality improvement activities.
- Managed performance of support staff; assessed competency and provided constructive feedback on initial hire and on an ongoing basis; and conducted annual performance appraisals. Evaluated institutional needs and assigned/directed staff to prioritize and coordinate responsibilities on a day-to-day basis.
- Maintained a working knowledge of Medical Malpractice, Research Compliance, Healthcare, Intellectual
Property, Immigration and Labor laws as they related to the Institution.
- Planned, developed, monitored, and assumed accountability for operating within the annual cost center budget.
University of Tennessee Office of General Counsel – Memphis, TN 2000 - 2003
Assistant General Counsel
- Represented the university in claims brought against its employees and claims brought against the university by its own employees such as workers' compensation claims and discrimination/employment matters.
- Drafted and negotiated complex legal documents related to the conduct of business including federal and state contracts.
- Provided counsel and legal advice to university administration in all legal matters including policy review and regulatory matters.
- Trial and administrative tribunal experience in civil litigation involving claims against the university and its employees in State and Federal Courts and the Tennessee Claims Commission.
- Provided legal defense for medical malpractice, tort, contract, and workers’ compensation matters.
