Laurel Fleming is Director, Corporate Compliance & Integrity/Chief Privacy Executive at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. Northwestern Memorial HealthCare is the corporate parent of a multi-hospital health system with over 100 sites of care located in Chicago and surrounding communities and more than 30,000 physicians, nurses, staff and volunteers. Northwestern Memorial Health System collaborates with Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine to achieve their shared vision of transforming healthcare through clinical innovation, academic excellence and breakthrough research.

Since joining the Northwestern Medicine family in 2002, Laurel has been integral in the development and administration of general corporate compliance, privacy, professional integrity and conflicts management programs in this academic medical setting. She co-chairs the health system’s Security and Privacy Council, a multi-affiliate body that informs privacy and security policy at Northwestern Medicine.

Throughout her career, Laurel has written and presented extensively on various health law topics. She has sought leadership roles in professional organizations, from co-chairing the Health and Hospital Law Committee of the Young Lawyers’ Section of the Chicago Bar Association to, most recently, co-chairing the Illinois Health Information Exchange (ILHIE) Legal Task Force Behavioral Health Workgroup, as well as the ILHIE Legal Task Force workgroup responsible for developing a breach response protocol for the ILHIE.

Before assuming her current position in the Office of Corporate Compliance and Integrity, she acted as in-house counsel for Northwestern Medical Group, advising on corporate, regulatory, and medical-legal issues, including medical record, health information, and federal and state law confidentiality issues; fraud and abuse; managed care; research and tax exemption. Prior to joining Northwestern Medical Group, Laurel practiced health care law at the law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, joining the firm in 1988 as an associate with promotion to partner in 1996.

Laurel earned her B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire and law degree from the University of Chicago.