May 11 2009
Sidley Austin LLP announced today that James C. Stansel, former Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Health + Human Services (HHS), has rejoined the firm as a partner, resident in the Washington, D.C. office. Stansel will rejoin Sidley as co-head of the firm's Global Life Sciences practice.
As Acting General Counsel, Stansel served as the chief legal officer of HHS, including its sub-agencies, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, and was responsible for the management of more than 400 attorneys, with oversight of litigation, fraud and abuse and regulatory matters in the Department. Stansel most recently served as Counselor to the Secretary of HHS, coordinating with the White House on the development of health policy, and advising the Secretary on a wide range of health policy issues.
Stansel previously served as Deputy General Counsel and was responsible for all legal issues arising out of programs administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“Jim was a rising star as a healthcare partner before he went to HHS. He returns as one of the most experienced and respected life sciences lawyers in the country, having participated in discussions and decisions involving virtually every facet of healthcare during his tenure in the federal government,” said Carter G. Phillips, managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. “We are very pleased to welcome him back to the firm as co-head of our Global Life Sciences Team.”
At Sidley, Stansel will focus his practice on representing health care manufacturers and providers, including pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device manufacturers and other health care providers, in civil, criminal, regulatory and administrative enforcement actions, as well as counseling clients on policy and compliance issues in the U.S. and abroad.
“I am thrilled to rejoin Sidley and its highly respected and innovative global practice. They have led the industry in understanding the issues facing the entire life sciences industry throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia,” said Stansel. “I am looking forward to working with Scott Bass and the entire Life Sciences team to enhance and deepen this already impressive practice.”
“Jim was the top lawyer in the government supervising CMS and FDA. He brings to our global presence in the pharma and device world an added pricing and compliance focus that will greatly enhance our pan-EU, U.S. and Asia strategic and compliance practice,” said Scott Bass, current head of Sidley’s Global Life Sciences practice.
Stansel received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as Senior Editor on the Yale Law Journal. He received his B.S, summa cum laude, from Brigham Young University. Mr. Stansel first joined the firm in 1998 following a clerkship with the Honorable Stephen H. Anderson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Sidley’s life sciences industry team, ranked number one in the pharmaceutical industry by BTI Consulting in 2008, consists of more than 200 lawyers across the United States, in the EU and in Asia and provides legal services to major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, food, dietary supplement and cosmeceutical companies. This multidisciplinary practice includes FDA regulatory, healthcare, products liability, intellectual property, government enforcement and compliance, antitrust/competition, international trade and arbitration, M&A transactions and joint ventures, nanotechnology and environmental. Our lawyers represent clients at every stage of the product life cycle.
Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1800 lawyers practicing in 16 U.S. and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Every year since 2003, Sidley has been named to Legal Business’ Global Elite, its designation for the 18 firms “that define the pinnacle of the legal profession.” BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm, has named Sidley to their Client Service Hall of Fame as one of only two law firms to rank in the Client Service Top 10 for seven years in a row, and to the BTI Power Elite as one of only seven law firms demonstrating the best client relationships for the fourth consecutive year.