Manatt strengthens health business with addition of Darrell Kirch
Law and consulting firm Manatt has welcomed Darrell Kirch, MD, president emeritus of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), as a national advisor in its health business. He will be based in Washington, DC.
A respected leader and physician, Kirch will bolster Manatt Health’s strategy, policy, and legal offerings to the country’s academic healthcare institutions and broader healthcare industry.
Kirch served as president and CEO of the AAMC from 2006 to 2019, leading strategies for fostering innovation at US medical schools and their teaching hospitals and health systems.
“Innovation and transformation are our guiding principles as we advise our clients and help them navigate today’s new economy,” said Donna Wilson, Manatt’s CEO and managing partner. “Darrell’s impressive background and commitment to being an agent of change embody this ethos, making him an ideal fit to our integrated legal and consulting platform.”
Kirch is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and currently serves as co-chair of the NAM Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience. He is also on the governing boards of the American College of Psychiatrists and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
Before his tenure at the AAMC, Kirch was dean, university senior vice president, and academic health system leader of the Medical College of Georgia and the Pennsylvania State University Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. He began his academic career as a psychiatrist and clinical neuroscientist at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), where he became chief of the schizophrenia research branch and acting scientific director in 1993.
Kirch has received the American Hospital Association’s Award of Honor and Outstanding Service Medal of the United States Public Health Service. He holds an MD from the University of Colorado.
“With academic health centers at an inflection point as we emerge from the pandemic, their educational, research and clinical missions are more important than ever,” said Kirch. “Future success depends on taking innovative strategies and operational excellence to a new level, and Manatt is well positioned to guide this evolution.”
Kirch’s hiring is the latest of Manatt’s high-profile additions to its health group. The firm last year added Ralph Muller, MD, former CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, as a national advisor. The firm has also strengthened its health group with the addition of digital health expert Vivian de Ruijter, MD; digital health and regulatory partner Yarmela Pavlovic; corporate partner Paul Carr-Rollitt; and litigation partner Charles Weir.
Manatt also recently grew its digital practice with the addition of managing directors Jennifer Millard and Kalon Gutierrez and partner Farnaz Alemi.
