Just a few months ago, Charles Fry (‘99) represented Dr. David Kimberlin, a UAB Medicine and Children’s of Alabama pediatric infectious disease physician, as he testified before the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging about the effects of a price increase of Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill.
Dr. Kimberlin testified that a pediatric patient diagnosed with toxoplasmosis needed Daraprim, the drug acquired by Turing Pharmaceuticals, but the patient had difficulties obtaining the drug because of the dramatic price increase of nearly $60,000 for the year-long course of treatment and new restrictions Turing placed on its distribution.
“This was an instance where a UAB physician was on the cutting edge of a critical healthcare issue that was directly affecting patients all over the country,” Fry said. “By testifying against the unfair pricing of Daraprim, it brought to light the dangers of dramatic increases in drug prices for patients, doctors and hospitals.”
Fry practiced at Johnston Barton Proctor and Rose LLP for 14 years before stepping into his current role two years ago as General Counsel of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, P.C., the faculty practice plan for UAB Medicine. He represents the 1,200 physicians of UAB Medicine and nearly 1,300 other employees who work with them.
The idea to make a change from private practice first took root when he was participating in Leadership Birmingham about three years ago. Other leaders in the class continued to tell him throughout the year that they saw a different calling for him. They urged him to step outside of the box. Fry started thinking about how he could use his legal skills to provide a different service and shortly thereafter the opportunity at UAB Medicine became available.
The position is much more diverse than that of most lawyers in private practice, and it requires that Fry approach several wide-ranging areas of law, including but not limited to medical malpractice, employment, HIPAA, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, contracts, finance, physician peer review and medical staff credentialing, and corporate governance.
“I never know what the next meeting will bring. Every day is a new adventure. Healthcare is the most rapidly changing area of the law right now. My mind must be open at all times. I must be prepared to advise my clients – any one of the 2,500 of them – on how to manage a certain issue or situation,” he said. “I hire a lot of great help from the outside, but there are many times when I have to make quick calls.”
Those who have watched Fry make the transition are impressed.
“That’s a hard transition to make and not many people are able to do it because it takes a whole new set of management skills,” said Bob MacKenzie, a partner at Starnes Davis Florie LLP in Birmingham. “The ability to manage and oversee physicians, that’s an incredibly different responsibility.”
Judge Scott Vowell, the retired Presiding Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge, wrote a letter of recommendation for Fry.
“I thought it would be a good match,” Judge Vowell said. “His manner is a great help in accomplishing the goals that he has. He’s persuasive, and he doesn’t use a heavy hand to get people to agree with him.”
Fry, a native of Birmingham, wants to see the city continue to grow and develop. He lives in the city and is a member of the board of directors for REV Birmingham, an economic development organization that helps stimulate business growth and improve quality of life.
As the Secretary-Treasurer for the Birmingham Bar Association, Fry is also helping develop the legal community. He has taken the lead on several important projects, most notably, making improvements to the Birmingham Bar Building. Fry has taken the lead on the renovation of the building’s courtyard. At the same time, Fry and other lawyers are taking deliberate steps to improve and enhance other parts of the building, MacKenzie said.
While at UA Law, Fry learned about the value of hard work. Success, he said, requires a tremendous amount of hours, and there’s no easy way to be a lawyer. Every day is a challenge, and clients expect their attorneys to meet those challenges.
As a recruiter for Johnston Barton, Fry would sometimes hear criticism about UA Law for its intense competition, but Fry said that competition made people stronger lawyers and provided a better landing for them when they entered private practice.
“As hard as law school was, the practice is 10 times harder,” Fry said.