The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke—the two leading causes of death in the world. The organization works with 40 million volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to both medical professionals and consumers.

The Dallas-based association, founded by six cardiologists in 1924, is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to combating heart disease and stroke. The AHA operates across the U.S. and includes more than 150 local offices and more than 3,000 employees. Lewis Kinard plays an important role in the association's work, as its executive vice president, general counsel and assistant corporate secretary.

Legal Team

Kinard oversees a 10-attorney department that handles all global legal matters for the association and its related entities. Responsibilities are focused by subject area or business unit, although “more and more, [the lawyers] are having to work in teams on the larger matters that require expertise and co-counsel,” Kinard said.

Eighty percent of the work is kept in-house, and outside counsel primarily are used for large, unusual or complex matters as well as international issues.

“We actively manage our outside counsel in a very collaborative way,” Kinard said. “We want to make sure everyone is aligned and everyone moves agilely.”

Outside Counsel

When Kinard does need to outsource, he said he turns to Baker McKenzie for international work, noting that the firm “knows our typical needs outside the U.S. and has been supporting AHA for years.”

The department also relies heavily on Polsinelli for its expertise in health care and nonprofit law.

“We just start there because they know us so well, and it saves so much time and money—we don't have to re-educate new outside counsel,” Kinard said.

He added that the AHA also turns to other firms that do more specialized work as needed in other locations.

Daily Duties

In addition to overseeing the legal department, which Kinard said is now the largest it's ever been, he sits on several AHA internal committees and committees of volunteers, including the international and corporate relationships review committees, as well as the compliance oversight work group.

He also works closely with top leadership when they are working on new programs or developing new opportunities to further the AHA's mission.

“That's what makes this the best job I've ever had,” Kinard said. “I get to work with amazing staff and volunteers and draw upon literally every bit of expertise I had before coming here in a job that actually does save lives today and will in the future,” he said.

Route to the Top

After graduating from SMU Dedman School of Law in 1987, Kinard said he “had a meandering path starting in law firms, solo practice and legal services work in Dallas.”

In 2001, he moved into the technology sector, eventually becoming GC and CEO at Practice Manager Group (now AutoMon). When the Great Recession hit, Kinard returned to legal aid work, serving as the directing attorney of Houston-based Lone Star Legal Aid.

He joined the AHA as senior attorney in 2013 and worked his way up to the GC chair, landing the top legal role last November.

Personal

An Arkansas native, Kinard is married with two grown children and one grandchild. Other than a few years in Denver, he has lived in Dallas since law school. He is an avid backpacker who goes hiking in the Rockies every summer.

Last Book

“Deep Thinking,” by Garry Kasparov, which Kinard said is “about how people need to learn to work with AI as opposed to being afraid of it.”