Bill Shields retired this month after more than 25 years leading the American College of Radiology’s legal department, the organization announced Monday.
Shields first joined the college as general counsel in 1998, transitioning from an attorney role with the U.S. Department of Defense. Before that, he held filled various other titles within the U.S. government, including congressional fellow on the staff of the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, ACR noted.
“Our longtime General Counsel, Bill Shields JD, LLM, CAE, retires this month. We appreciate him for all of his hard work and dedication over the past 25 years,” the college said in a Jan. 8 social media post.
Tom Hoffman, JD, ACR’s vice president of legal, succeeds Shields in the role. He first joined the college in 1997 as associate general counsel and ascended to the VP role in 2019.
Shields shared news of his retirement on social media a few days before the ACR announcement.
“It's been a great 25-plus years working with true professionals to improve patient care in radiology,” Shields wrote, adding that he believes Hoffman will do a “fantastic job” filling the role.
“I'm honored and humbled to succeed you as ACR's new general counsel,” Hoffman wrote in response. “Countless members and staff have benefited from your wisdom, leadership and vision. Godspeed to you and your family in your retirement!”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.