Litigation Lead, Regulatory Healthcare Consulting

Ascendient partners with hospitals and healthcare organizations on high-stakes regulatory and strategic work, including:

• Certificate of Need (CON) applications across multiple states

• Contested case litigation and expert witness testimony in CON proceedings

• Healthcare utilization forecasting and demand analysis

• Service line planning and financial feasibility studies

• Strategic planning for hospitals and health systems

Litigation is the highest-stakes, highest-value work the firm does. It demands deep subject matter expertise, composure under adversarial pressure, and the ability to defend a position - analytically and strategically - when opposing counsel comes hard.

• Serve as Ascendient 's primary expert witness in contested CON hearings across multiple states, with particular depth in North Carolina

• Develop and execute litigation strategy in direct partnership with client attorneys

• Author expert reports and pre-filed written testimony that are analytically rigorous and fully defensible under cross-examination

• Prepare hearing exhibits and supporting analytical work product tied to CON review criteria: need analysis, financial feasibility, utilization projections, and service area analysis

• Attend and participate in all phases of hearings, including proceedings that may span multiple weeks

• Prepare for and give deposition testimony as required

• Mentor and develop the firm's Opposition Lead, with the potential to serve as their direct supervisor as the practice scales

• Help shape the firm's litigation methodology, standards, and analytical capability over time

Required:

• Formally qualified and accepted by an administrative law judge or hearing officer as an expert witness in CON, healthcare regulatory, or other administrative law hearings

• Testified in a minimum of 3-5 administrative law hearings (7 or more preferred)

• Direct experience with Certificate of Need processes, review criteria, and state health planning frameworks

• Demonstrated ability to survive rigorous cross-examination and defend analytical methodology under adversarial pressure

• Experience authoring expert reports or pre-filed written testimony for administrative proceedings

• Hospital financial modeling and feasibility analysis experience

• Deep understanding of hospital and health system operations, service line dynamics, and utilization data

• Familiarity with healthcare data sources: CMS datasets, AHA data, state health planning databases, and similar

Preferred:

• CON hearing experience in North Carolina (strongly preferred); multi-state experience a plus

• Background in a healthcare consulting firm

• Experience with CON opposition work - comments, responses, counter-arguments

• Ability to be qualified as an expert in both need analysis and financial feasibility as distinct subject matter areas

• Experience mentoring or developing staff on litigation-related analytical work

• Composed and steady under pressure while in a hearing room, in a deposition, and in the weeks of preparation that precede them

• Analytically precise, with the ability to hold a complex position under sustained cross-examination

• A strategic partner to attorneys who helps shape the case, not just your testimony

• Someone who writes clearly and deliberately, knowing your expert report becomes part of the legal record

• A developer of people who can transfer deep expertise without losing rigor

• Direct, confident, and credible - in writing, in testimony, and in front of clients

• $155,000 - $196,000 base salary

• Short-term incentive compensation: opportunity to earn an additional 15% of base salary annually

• Remote (USA-based; must be available during Eastern core hours 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM ET)

• Travel required for hearings, depositions, and client meetings

• Full benefits including health, dental, life, and disability insurance, 401(k), and paid time off

Salary: $155,000 - $196,000 per year Originally posted on Himalayas