Associate General Counsel

ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL

Acuity Eye Group Southern California Full-Time Exempt

Acuity Eye Group is one of the largest ophthalmology platforms in the Western United States operating 50 clinic locations and multiple ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) across Southern California. Our subspecialty footprint spans general ophthalmology retina glaucoma oculoplastics and cataract/anterior segment. We combine physician-led clinical excellence with a platform-scale operations model and we are in an active growth phase new locations new physician partnerships and continued investment in compliance infrastructure.

Acuity is seeking an Associate General Counsel to serve as embedded in-house legal counsel. This is a high-impact high-visibility role reporting directly to the General Counsel and partnering closely with the COO and executive team. You will handle a broad scope of legal matters with particular depth in healthcare regulatory compliance physician contracts employment law and ASC governance.

The AGC is the day-to-day legal resource for Acuitys operations compliance and business teams. You will be expected to work fast and work practically drafting and reviewing contracts advising on California employment matters supporting incident response and risk mitigation and staying ahead of regulatory developments that affect multi-site ophthalmology and ASC operations. This is not a purely advisory role; you will own work-streams and drive them to resolution.

Healthcare Regulatory & Compliance

Advise on HIPAA Stark Law Anti-Kickback Statute and California-specific healthcare regulations

Support AAAHC/CMS ASC compliance including governing body structure policy review and incident response

Manage OMIC and professional liability notifications; coordinate with external counsel on adverse events and claims

Monitor regulatory changes affecting ophthalmology ASC operations and multi-site group practices

Support development and maintenance of compliance policies across clinical and operational functions

Contracts & Transactions

Draft review and negotiate physician employment agreements independent contractor agreements and PSAs

Handle vendor contracts real estate leases equipment financing and managed care agreements

Support M&A diligence and integration activity as the platform continues to grow

Maintain contract tracking system and manage execution workflows

Employment & HR Legal Support

Advise HR and operations on California employment law wage and hour FEHA FMLA/CFRA retaliation and separation

Review and update offer letters employment agreements policies and handbooks

Support investigation of employee complaints and EEOC/DFEH responses

Partner with COO and HR on performance management and termination risk assessment

Risk Management & Litigation

Manage external counsel relationships; coordinate litigation strategy and monitor spend

Conduct or oversee root cause analyses in response to adverse clinical or operational events

Maintain litigation hold protocols and support discovery obligations

Provide legal input on insurance coverage renewals and claims

Corporate Governance & General Counsel Support

Assist GC in building and maintaining the legal functions infrastructure templates playbooks tracking tools

Support board and governing body documentation requirements for ASCs

Handle state licensing corporate filings and regulatory registrations

Serve as a trusted practical advisor to business leaders who need answers not just analysis

Required

J.D. from an accredited law school; active California State Bar membership in good standing

510 years of legal experience with meaningful time in healthcare in-house law firm or both

Demonstrated fluency in healthcare regulatory law (Stark AKS HIPAA California DMHC/CDPH)

Experience with ASC or multi-site clinical operations is strongly preferred

Solid California employment law background this comes up constantly

Proven ability to work independently manage competing priorities and give clear direct advice

Preferred

Prior in-house experience in a physician group practice DSO or ASC platform

Experience with AAAHC accreditation CMS Conditions of Participation or ambulatory surgery governance

Comfort with physician recruiting compensation and equity structures in multi-specialty group practices

Familiarity with Nextech CareCloud or similar EHR platforms from a compliance/contracting perspective

Compensation is designed to attract an experienced healthcare attorney who wants to build something not just advise from the sideline. Total package is competitive with Southern California in-house counsel benchmarks for multi-site healthcare platforms.

Component

Details

Base Salary

$175000 $220000 annually

Annual Incentive

Up to 15% of base salary; tied to company performance and individual objectives

Total Cash Target

$201250 $253000 at target incentive

Health Benefits

Medical dental and vision employee and dependents

Retirement

401(k) with employer match

PTO

Four weeks annually plus paid holidays

Bar Dues & CLE

Fully covered

Professional Development

Budget for conferences memberships and continuing legal education

Location

Southern California hybrid-flexible with travel to clinic/ASC sites as needed

Base salary placement within range is commensurate with experience depth of healthcare regulatory expertise and prior in-house versus law firm background.

The range above reflects current market data for in-house healthcare counsel at California-based multi-site platforms in the $100M$500M revenue tier. Key reference points:

NALP/Bloomberg Law 2024 in-house survey: Southern California healthcare counsel (510 YOE) median base of $185000$205000

Radford/Aon benchmarks for multi-site specialty health: AGC/Senior Counsel roles at $170000$225000 base depending on scope

Premium applies for candidates with AAAHC ASC or ophthalmology-specific experience scarcity commands a range ceiling approach

Annual incentive at 1015% is consistent with director/senior counsel peers in similarly sized healthcare platforms

Reports to: General Counsel

Key working relationships: Chief Operating Officer Regional Directors VP HR ASC Directors Practice Managers and external counsel partners.

This is currently a standalone AGC role. Acuity expects the legal function to grow with the platform; the AGC will help shape that growth including future team structure outside counsel strategy and legal operations infrastructure.

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