Chief Legal Officer

The chief legal officer (CLO) reports to Mayo Clinic’s president and CEO and is secretary to the Board of Trustees and its Governance and Nominating Committee. The chief legal officer is responsible for leading and managing the Mayo Clinic Legal Department at all Mayo sites (Rochester, Florida, Arizona and Mayo Clinic Health System) and partnering with leadership to oversee and guide decisions in a risk-balanced and proactive manner for a category-of-one organization.  

The chief legal officer leads the Legal Department and oversees the delivery of all legal services to Mayo Clinic and its affiliated entities. The chief legal officer is also a top administrative leader and trusted adviser to Mayo Clinic to help ensure our strategic priorities are met. Under the chief legal officer’s leadership, the Legal Department provides legal advice and support to enable Mayo Clinic to achieve its mission to transform healthcare for the benefit of all patients. The chief legal officer also provides direct legal support to the Board of Trustees and its committees, the Board of Governors, the CEO, the chief administrative officer and other top executives. 

The chief legal officer maintains current knowledge of the core legal, risk and reputational areas affecting Mayo Clinic, including litigation, health law, complex business transactions, technology/digital innovation and corporate governance. The position requires strategic and innovative thinking to enable Mayo to achieve its goals while balancing associated legal and reputational risks.

The chief legal officer must be well-versed in legal operations and the technologies that maximize efficiencies and service levels in delivering legal and administrative services. The chief legal officer must have excellent interpersonal skills, effectively manage ambiguous and high-pressure scenarios, and communicate concisely and confidently to leadership groups and external stakeholders. The chief legal officer is expected to role model servant leadership and work as a collaborative team player within the Legal Department and with fellow leaders at Mayo Clinic. The position requires a bias toward problem-solving and action, as well as a commitment to driving results and completing defined goals aligned with Mayo Clinic values.    

In addition to the preceding responsibilities, the chief legal officer will be required to have experience in the following areas of responsibilities:  

• Corporate governance matters
• Crisis management and crisis communications 
• Information security and cyber threats
• Internal investigations
• Government relations
• Data privacy
• Intellectual property
• Labor relations
• Collaboration with the Compliance, Risk Management, Human Resources, Communications, Information and Physical Security and Business Development departments
• Management of outside counsel and departmental resources and budgets
• Oversight of the professional development of Legal Department professionals  

Candidates must have an undergraduate degree from a nationally recognized undergraduate institution and a J.D. from a fully accredited law school. Candidates must be fully licensed and admitted to the Bar in good standing in at least one jurisdiction in the United States.  

Candidates must have at least 10 years of experience providing legal services to a healthcare institution, including pharmaceuticals, devices or health insurers, and at least five years of experience with senior management responsibility in a legal department.