DCH Health System Hires Longtime Appeals Court Judge Scott Donaldson to Join as General Counsel

DCH Health System has hired former Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Judge Scott Donaldson as its general counsel.

Donaldson has had an esteemed career in the Alabama legal system, serving approximately 18 years as a trial court and appellate court judge, including sitting on the bench of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals for eight years. As a judge and lawyer, he participated in hundreds of bench trials and at least 160 jury trials.

He will join the DCH Health System as General Counsel on Sept. 5, 2023.

“We are excited to have such a giant of the Alabama legal community join us as we continue to grow,” said Katrina Keefer, President and CEO, DCH Health System. “To have someone of Judge Donaldson’s stature join our team reflects our growing reputation in the medical community. We couldn’t be happier he chose to join us since he could have worked anywhere he wanted after leaving the bench.”

Donaldson will oversee the system’s legal matters including contracts, medical staff credentialing and peer review, regulatory compliance, counsel to the Board of Directors and more.

“The patient caregivers, physicians, and other healthcare professionals in the DCH health system do extraordinary work night and day to care for the people of Tuscaloosa County and the West Alabama area,” said Scott Donaldson. “The DCH President and CEO Katrina Keefer has assembled an experienced, hard-working, and dedicated administrative team to provide support to them in their mission of service. I am excited to be a part of that team.”

For more than a decade before becoming a trial judge, Donaldson provided legal counsel for medical staffs and hospitals including the DCH Health System. During that time, he worked regularly with DCH administrators, medical care providers and employees of the health system. Those efforts included many of the responsibilities that will be part of his new role with DCH, including contract and other document drafting, legal services to medical staff committees, advice on medical issues including regulatory compliance and much more.

“Judge Donaldson already knows and understands us. He knows the DCH Health System. He knows our personnel. He knows health care. He knows the law. Because of that experience, Scott can hit the ground running on the first day, making him the ideal candidate for the job of general counsel,” Keefer said.

Concurrent with his full-time legal work, Donaldson also taught at the University of Alabama Law School from 2006 to 2022. Additionally, he taught or served in other areas including teaching a business law class for several years in the University’s College of Commerce and Business Administration.

Donaldson holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Business Administration from the University of Alabama. He received his Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law where he graduated cum laude and became a member of the Curia Honoris honor society. Scott continues to be sought after to speak at judicial and legal multiday seminars across the country.