Department of Health Names New General Counsel

Albert L. Partee, III, has been appointed the new general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Health.
“Albert brings a wealth of experience in both civil and criminal cases to the Department of Health, and I am pleased he is accepting the challenge of this new position,” said Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN.

As General Counsel for the Department of Health, Partee will oversee the Office of General Counsel, which provides legal representation and support services to the Commissioner and to the bureaus, programs and boards associated with the Department. He will also serve as ethics compliance officer for the Department.

The office is located in Nashville and is organized into four divisions. Three divisions handle legal work pertaining to more than 30 boards and other programs under the assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Health Licensure and Regulation. This work includes contested case hearings concerning the discipline of persons and facilities holding health care provider and facility licenses from the Department. One division represents the rest of the Department, including the Bureau of Administrative Services and the Bureau of Health Services.

“I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to the challenge of providing legal direction to such a large department,” said Partee.

Partee comes to the Department of Health from the Tennessee Office of Attorney General, where he served as senior counsel for the Antitrust Division handling civil and criminal cases. He has also worked for Legal Services of Middle Tennessee, where he handled civil consumer protection and domestic relations matters in both trial and appellate courts. Partee received both his Juris Doctorate and Bachelor’s degrees from Vanderbilt University. He is admitted to practice law in all Tennessee state courts, in the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in the United States Supreme Court.