Richard Sugarman, J.D., Appointed Chief Legal Officer for Elliot Health System

Richard Sugarman, J.D., has been named chief legal officer for Elliot Health System. He will join the system starting Aug. 3. In his new role, Rich will guide the development of enhanced legal strategies for Elliot Health System.

Rich joins Elliot Health System after more than 14 years of service with Boston Medical Center Health System, most recently as vice president and deputy general counsel. In that role, Rich has led the team in managing the legal affairs for a major academic medical center and one of the busiest trauma centers in New England. He has guided legal services for two medical professional practice groups as well having led the legal team that provided strategic counsel through two hospital acquisitions which also included a partial physician group acquisition and the associated integration. His work has extended to leading the legal services associated with the creation of three joint venture initiatives, as well as representing the health system before federal and state courts and government agencies. 

Rich’s professional experience extends to having served as a Judge Advocate Officer in the United States Army Reserve, ultimately at the rank of Colonel, a role which included commanding two Army Reserve legal units consisting of 50 attorneys and paralegals each and service in Iraq as the senior legal advisor to the Commander of the Army’s Medical Task Force; as an Adjunct Lecturer in Law with Boston University School of Law; and as an Associate with Boston-based law firms LeClairRyan and Craig and Macauley PC, as well as the Washington, D.C., office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP. Rich also served as a Space and Missile Operations Officer and Instructor with the U.S. Air Force.

Rich is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University in Fort Collins before completing his Juris Doctor from the George Washington University School of Law in Washington, DC. He completed his Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.