Baltimore trial lawyer Francis B. Burch Jr. has been elected chairman of the board of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Burch, who holds several executive roles at DLA Piper law firm in Baltimore, will take on his new position July 1.
Burch will succeed C. Michael Armstrong at Hopkins, who has been chairman since 2005.
Burch has a long relationship with Hopkins Medicine, having served as a member of its board of trustees since its inception in 1996. He also has ties to The Johns Hopkins University, where he was a trustee and also served on the board of overseers of its Carey Business School. He recently served on the search committee that selected the current university president, Ronald J. Daniels.
At Piper, Burch has helped expand the company from a regional law firm with 250 employees to one with more than 3,500 lawyesr working in 71 offices in 29 countries. He is chairman of Piper's global board and co-chairman of its U.S. board.
"We are extremely honored during these times of tremendous growth and change in our health care system, both locally and abroad, to have the wisdom and guidance of such an experienced global leader," Edward D. Miller, dean of the medical faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said in a statement.
Miller said Burch "highly respects and understands our commitment to patient care, education and research, and holds a deep understanding of our history in Baltimore and the United States."