Lead Counsel, McKesson Health Systems

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Title: Lead Counsel, McKesson Health Systems

Location: Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX (Preferred)

Hybrid/Remote/Onsite: Hybrid position

Current Need

McKesson’s General Counsel Organization is seeking an experienced, business-oriented healthcare attorney to serve as Lead Counsel for McKesson Health Systems (“MHS”), within US Pharmaceutical Distribution. This role will provide legal support for MHS complex commercial transactions, strategic initiatives, regulatory matters, and risk governance, working closely with MHS business leaders and the broader MHS legal team.

MHS supports health systems, hospital pharmacies, and group purchasing organization (GPO) partners across the country. McKesson’s nation-wide network of distribution centers supplies medication to 1/3 of all health care providers in the United States, and we frequently invest in technology and other systems to enhance the safety and reliability of our core distribution services and technology offerings. The successful candidate will bring a strong command of the healthcare laws and regulatory frameworks relevant to pharmaceutical distribution, health systems, GPO arrangements, pricing, government programs, and customer contracting. Experience supporting health systems, hospital pharmacy, GPOs, pharmaceutical or specialty distribution, or related healthcare supply chain businesses will further position the candidate for success in the role.

Position Description

Primary responsibilities:

• Provide sophisticated legal support for contract drafting, negotiation and strategy for MHS commercial transactions, including customer and GPO agreements, pricing and contracting models, RFPs, and new offerings, as well as routine day-to-day legal support for the MHS business.

• Highly proficient with contract drafting and negotiations in the pharmaceutical space.

• Advise on healthcare regulatory and compliance matters affecting pharmaceutical distribution and health systems, including pricing, government programs, antitrust and competition, 340B, fraud and abuse, licensure, and related requirements, in coordination with legal subject matter experts and Compliance.

• Support government engagements, major RFPs, and significant GPO matters, including assessment of contract vulnerabilities, compliance posture, gap assessments, and pricing and audit risks.

• Contribute to modernizing, standardizing, and scaling legal support, including templates, playbooks, clause libraries, fallback positions, legal intake, knowledge management, and AI-enabled tools.

• Collaborate with a team of legal professionals that provide cross-functional support services for the above areas.

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• Serves as a legal advisor to MHS business partners on a wide array of topics relating to MHS customer and GPO needs, including legal risk mitigation, customer relationship management, and strategic initiatives; and

• Frequent interactions with other internal legal and business stakeholders across functional groups.

Key Relationships

Reports to: Managing Principal Counsel, McKesson Health Systems

Key Clients: MHS senior leadership and business stakeholders

Internal Partners: MHS legal team, GCO and Compliance partners, and relevant business functions

External Stakeholders: Customers, GPO partners, outside counsel, and strategic counterparties

Minimum Requirements

7 - 10+ years of corporate law experience

Large law firm experience combined with in-house experience, preferred

Critical Skills

• Excellent commercial contract drafting and negotiation skills

• Knowledge of healthcare regulatory advice (e.g. anti-kickback law, FCA, government price reporting, 340B, government contracting, antitrust) and experience supporting health systems, GPOs, hospital pharmacy, or pharmaceutical distribution

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to provide sound, clear legal advice to all levels within the company, including senior business executives

• Ability to work closely with, facilitate interactions within, and influence large cross-functional teams (including representatives from other areas of the law department, regulatory and compliance professionals, sales professionals and operations managers)

• Notable business acumen dealing with risk management and organizational savvy

• High degree of ownership, responsiveness, and accountability, with the ability to create structure in fast-moving environments

• Must be a team player who can develop strong working relationships and work collaboratively with internal clients and other members of the legal senior team. Ability to lead by example including a willingness to “roll up your sleeves” and undertake day-to-day legal work.

Education

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Member of a U.S. state bar in good standing.

Must be authorized to work in the US. Sponsorship is not available for this position.

We are proud to offer a competitive compensation package at McKesson as part of our Total Rewards. This is determined by several factors, including performance, experience and skills, equity, regular job market evaluations, and geographical markets. The pay range shown below is aligned with McKesson's pay philosophy, and pay will always be compliant with any applicable regulations. In addition to base pay, other compensation, such as an annual bonus or long-term incentive opportunities may be offered. For more information regarding benefits at McKesson, please click here.

Our Base Pay Range for this position

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McKesson provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, age, genetic information, or any other legally protected category. For additional information on McKesson’s full Equal Employment Opportunity policies, visit our Equal Employment Opportunity page.

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