Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, WVU Health System
By Dawn Nolan
Practicing health care law was never part of Jessica Alsop’s career plan. In fact, neither was being an attorney.
“I thought I would be an accountant and didn’t stray too far from that plan until I went to law school,” she says.
While attending the West Virginia University (WVU) College of Law, Alsop met her now-husband, Rob, and found that she enjoyed her tax and business classes. So, after graduating in 2002, she went to New York University for her Master of Laws in taxation.
“I planned to be a tax lawyer and then quickly realized I didn’t like practicing tax law in real life,” she says. “I was blessed to work at a firm, Jackson Kelly, that helped me find my way into mergers and acquisitions.”
Most of the work in that area was for coal, oil and gas companies. After more than a decade, Alsop’s experience led her to an in-house counsel position at Noble Energy.
“At Jackson Kelly, I learned to work hard but also to find areas and people I enjoyed because that’s when I would be able to do my best work,” Alsop says. “At Noble Energy, I learned first-hand how businesses and leadership teams operated and the role of in-house counsel in a business.”
Alsop was approached by then General Counsel of WVU Health System Bob O’Neil about coming to work at the health system.
“Even though I had done very little health care work, the health system was on the verge of acquiring several new hospitals, and he needed help managing the acquisitions,” she says. “He promised that if I managed the acquisitions, he could teach me what I needed to know about health care along the way. Four years later, I succeeded him as general counsel and have been in my current role for six years. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to assist with the addition of 19 hospitals to our health system.”
As senior vice president and chief legal officer for WVU Health System, Alsop oversees legal services, insurance and risk management for the organization, which consists of 40 attorneys and 60 other staff members.
“Some of the challenges I face are being able to keep up with the pace of our organization while making sure I am available to help remove obstacles for my team,” she says. “We are consistently focused on making improvements so there is constant change. It is a good thing, but it can be challenging.”
She also advises the senior leadership team on key initiatives daily, one of her favorite parts of her position.
“I have the privilege of working with some of the smartest people I know and the opportunity to be part of the conversation when decisions are made,” Alsop says. “Understanding our leadership’s thought process behind decisions gives me invaluable insight to help provide legal services and advise my team to help the organization achieve its goals.”
Though she’s only worked for three employers over the course of her career, Alsop has learned some valuable lessons at each.
“At the health system, I’ve learned that even in large organizations you can be nimble. Just because things have been done a certain way in the past by others doesn’t mean that is the way they have to be done,” Alsop says. “Also, the most important thing is to make a decision and start taking action. Almost every decision can be paused or changed along the way if needed, but if you spend too much time analyzing and never making a decision, the moment may pass you by.”
Alsop says she has been blessed to be around leaders who mentored her or taught her by example at each place she has worked.
“Our CEO often says we become reflections of our mentors and the places we’ve worked in the past,” she says. “At each of the three stops in my career, I’ve had several mentors who were smart, creative, honest and kind.”
Alsop describes herself as someone who is willing to help others accomplish their goals.
“I take a lot of pride in seeing younger lawyers who I’ve worked with over the years excel in their roles,” she says. “I would like to think my work in growing and leading our legal team at WVU Health System has helped develop a highly respected group of health care experts who have an impact on the legal industry through their work on a daily basis. This group of highly qualified attorneys includes leading experts on various areas of health care law who shape the law in our state through their work in litigation, advising our hospitals and physicians and providing their expertise to our associations and lawmakers.”
Alsop says her greatest professional accomplishment is helping grow and develop WVU Health System into the 25-hospital integrated health care delivery system it is today.
“I want to see our state succeed, and as the largest health system in the state, we take our role as the largest employer and commitment to provide high quality health care close to home across all our regions very seriously,” she says. “We also have a leadership team that is agile and willing to try new things to accomplish our goals, which helps inspire me to develop new and more efficient ways for our legal team to support the organization.”
Whether it’s time, expertise or resources, Alsop makes an effort to give back. She’s always willing to help nonprofits with their corporate documents and updating their bylaws, and she recently helped an organization negotiate a new lease to relocate to a larger location.
“From the time I started working as an attorney, I wanted to be involved with different organizations and do things to help give back,” Alsop says. “In the early 2000s, I helped lead a Girl Scout troop at Piedmont Elementary with two other attorneys in Charleston. Having the ability to provide that experience for young girls was very rewarding.”
Alsop has served on the board of directors for several organizations, including Schoenbaum Center, Children’s Therapy Clinic, West Virginia Bar Association, University of Charleston, American Inns of Court, Priscilla Circle at Christ Church United Methodist Church, Suncrest Childcare and Early Learning Center, United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties and The Education Alliance. She also is active in the lives of her three daughters, volunteering for their Girl Scout troops, softball leagues and parent-teacher associations.
“I recognize how fortunate I am and know there are so many who could use help,” she says. “Throughout my childhood, I was lucky enough to have people willing to help me. Without those opportunities, I may not have ended up where I am today.”
Alsop and her husband chose to return to West Virginia after being in New York City and have stayed to raise their three daughters closer to family.
“The university has played a large part in my education and career,” she says. “We enjoy having the opportunity to live in Morgantown and having access to all the resources and entertainment events available in our college town.”
