U. General Counsel's Office to be restructured

The changes will include the consolidation of legal services for Penn and the Health System. Just over a year after former White House counsel Peter Erichsen took charge of the University's legal operations, the offices he oversees are being restructured to increase their efficiency. Since the University formed its Health System in 1993, the Health System has had a legal office separate from the main University Office of the General Counsel. By this summer, those two offices will be merged into one. "The two offices would work better together," Erichsen said. "Health System lawyers bring expertise to bear on University legal problems, and vice versa." The integration of the Health System's Office of Legal Affairs and University's Office of the General Counsel will require the assorted attorneys to relocate into one office. As of now, offices are located at 3624 Market Street, the Penn Tower Hotel building and College Hall, but the imminent restructuring will most likely center all legal resources in the Mellon Bank building, according to Erichsen. Merging the legal teams calls for three deputy general counsels who will report to Erichsen. Health System General Counsel Thomas Tammany will stay on as the chief overseer of the Health System, while Lee Dobkin, the former senior counsel of the Health System, will assume the position of deputy general counsel for compliance. In that role, Dobkin will serve as an administrative officer for the General Counsel's office. The changes come just weeks after longtime University General Counsel Shelley Green left Penn to pursue other personal and professional interests. She and Tammany operated autonomously from each other until Erichsen was brought in last year to oversee them as vice president and general counsel of the University. Upon announcing her resignation, Green stressed that Erichsen's hiring had nothing to do with her departure. Erichsen said last week that Green's position is not being eliminated, and his office is conducting a search for a replacement. "[The Office of the General Counsel] expects to find a successor for Shelley, [but we] haven't interviewed anybody," Erichsen said, adding that they are looking at both internal and external candidates to fill the position. The informal search is still in its preliminary stages, Erichsen said. The restructuring process is gradually taking place to minimize inconvenience, so the two teams will continue to be "clearly discernable for the foreseeable future." Responses to the restructuring have been largely positive, according to Erichsen, who has been emphasizing stability and continuity throughout the reorganization process. "[Lawyers] are excited to be working on a variety of legal problems," he said. The reorganization is not expected to result in any layoffs, Erichsen added.

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