Defend the Work. Shape What Comes Next.
Ascendient has spent 30 years building a reputation as the nation’s premier Certificate of Need consulting firm. When a competitor contests an application and the case goes before an administrative law judge, the testimony that follows must be analytically airtight, strategically defensible, and delivered by someone who has been on that stand before.
We are hiring a Litigation Lead to own that challenge. This is a rare, high-impact specialist role for someone who has been formally qualified as an expert witness in administrative law hearings, withstood cross-examination, and wants to be the person our clients rely on when the stakes are highest.
About Ascendient
Ascendient partners with hospitals and healthcare organizations on high-stakes regulatory and strategic work, including:
- Certificate of Need (CON) applications across multiple states
- Contested case litigation and expert witness testimony in CON proceedings
- Healthcare utilization forecasting and demand analysis
- Service line planning and financial feasibility studies
- Strategic planning for hospitals and health systems
Litigation is the highest-stakes, highest-value work the firm does. It demands deep subject matter expertise, composure under adversarial pressure, and the ability to defend a position — analytically and strategically — when opposing counsel comes hard.
The Role
You will lead CON litigation engagements as the firm’s expert witness, working directly with client attorneys to build case strategy, develop the evidence, and testify in contested case proceedings before administrative law judges. You are the firm’s litigation anchor who shapes how Ascendient competes in a hearing room and who helps build the practice for the long term.
You will:
- Serve as Ascendient’s primary expert witness in contested CON hearings across multiple states, with particular depth in North Carolina
- Develop and execute litigation strategy in direct partnership with client attorneys
- Author expert reports and pre-filed written testimony that are analytically rigorous and fully defensible under cross-examination
- Prepare hearing exhibits and supporting analytical work product tied to CON review criteria: need analysis, financial feasibility, utilization projections, and service area analysis
- Attend and participate in all phases of hearings, including proceedings that may span multiple weeks
- Prepare for and give deposition testimony as required
- Mentor and develop the firm’s Opposition Lead, with the potential to serve as their direct supervisor as the practice scales
- Help shape the firm’s litigation methodology, standards, and analytical capability over time
What You Bring
Required:
- Formally qualified and accepted by an administrative law judge or hearing officer as an expert witness in CON, healthcare regulatory, or other administrative law hearings
- Testified in a minimum of 3–5 administrative law hearings (7 or more preferred)
- Direct experience with Certificate of Need processes, review criteria, and state health planning frameworks
- Demonstrated ability to survive rigorous cross-examination and defend analytical methodology under adversarial pressure
- Experience authoring expert reports or pre-filed written testimony for administrative proceedings
- Hospital financial modeling and feasibility analysis experience
- Deep understanding of hospital and health system operations, service line dynamics, and utilization data
- Familiarity with healthcare data sources: CMS datasets, AHA data, state health planning databases, and similar
Preferred:
- CON hearing experience in North Carolina (strongly preferred);
multi-state experience a plus
- Background in a healthcare consulting firm
- Experience with CON opposition work — comments, responses, counter-arguments
- Ability to be qualified as an expert in both need analysis and financial feasibility as distinct subject matter areas
- Experience mentoring or developing staff on litigation-related analytical work
Who Thrives Here
You are:
- Composed and steady under pressure while in a hearing room, in a deposition, and in the weeks of preparation that precede them
- Analytically precise, with the ability to hold a complex position under sustained cross-examination
- A strategic partner to attorneys who helps shape the case, not just your testimony
- Someone who writes clearly and deliberately, knowing your expert report becomes part of the legal record
- A developer of people who can transfer deep expertise without losing rigor
- Direct, confident, and credible — in writing, in testimony, and in front of clients
Compensation and Structure
- $155,000 – $196,000 base salary
- Short-term incentive compensation: opportunity to earn an additional 15% of base salary annually
- Remote (USA-based;
must be available during Eastern core hours 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM ET)
- Travel required for hearings, depositions, and client meetings
- Full benefits including health, dental, life, and disability insurance, 401(k), and paid time off