Allison L. Held is Associate General Counsel and Director of the Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) at VCU Health System, an innovative initiative that improves health outcomes for low-income patients by addressing social drivers of health rooted in legal needs. In this role, she leads the execution of MLP’s strategic business plan and oversees a dedicated team working to integrate legal assistance into the holistic delivery of patient care across more than ten patient populations at VCU Health—including Massey Cancer Center, the Children’s Hospital, the Emergency Department, and Complex Care programs.

Before joining VCU Health, Allison served as Associate General Counsel and later as Legal Advisor to the Chair of the Virginia State Corporation Commission. She brings extensive experience collaborating with community partners to address health disparities and improve population health. A committed advocate for access to justice, she has served on several nonprofit boards and currently serves as President of the Board of the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation.

Under her leadership, the MLP has earned national recognition, including the Pro Bono Institute’s Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Pro Bono Partner Award with Dominion Energy and McGuireWoods for its corporate MLP partnership, and an ACCC Innovator Award for the MLP’s work at VCU Massey Cancer Center in partnership with CancerLINC. In 2023, she co-authored “Addressing Social Determinants of Health through a Medical-Legal Partnership,” published in Oncology Issues.