James C. Stansel

James C. Stansel is executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where he is responsible for leading a team of lawyers in supporting PhRMA’s policy, advocacy, and science priorities, and in the development of sound legal policies impacting the pharmaceutical industry.

Mr. Stansel previously served as acting general counsel of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he was the chief legal officer of HHS, including its sub-agencies the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. At HHS, he also served as deputy general counsel and as counselor to the secretary, where he coordinated with the White House and advised the secretary on the development of health policy.

Immediately prior to joining PhRMA, Mr. Stansel was a partner and co-head of Sidley Austin LLP’s Global Life Sciences Team, representing health care manufacturers, providers, and insurers. His clients included pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device manufacturers; hospitals; nursing homes; therapy centers; mental health facilities; health plans and insurers; and consultants. These representations included litigation and investigations, regulatory counseling, and policy advocacy on a wide range of health care issues, such as Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, coverage, coding and pricing, promotion of pharmaceuticals and devices, kickbacks, false claims, transparency, and corporate integrity.

After graduation from Yale Law School, where he was senior editor of the Yale Law Journal, Mr. Stansel served a clerkship with the Honorable Stephen H. Anderson of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Mr. Stansel received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Brigham Young University.