Lead Legal Counsel, Business Development & Licensing

Job Description Summary

Location: This role can be located in East Hanover, NJ or Cambridge, MA US.
LI-#hybrid

The Novartis Legal Transactions team is seeking an experienced transactional Business Development & Licensing (BD&L) attorney who can be successful within our ethical, fast-paced, agile, inspired and collaborative culture.

The attorney will partner with key stakeholders to advise on, negotiate and draft license, collaboration, co-development, joint venture, acquisition, divestiture, and other strategic transaction agreements to support our Corporate & Business Development (C&BD) and strategy teams. Prior BD&L and transactions experience in the pharmaceutical industry as well as experience analyzing complex legal issues is required.

The attorney will be asked to provide legal leadership on cross-functional teams, identify legal issues relevant to the business, give recommendations to address critical issues so that business and legal objectives are met, advise and consult with employees, managers and leadership, proactively educate the business on relevant issues, serve as the legal advisor in complex transactions, analyze complex issues and concepts in a timely fashion, and review, analyze and keep current on all federal and state legal developments affecting the pharmaceutical industry.

As the Lead Legal Counsel BD&L, you will be responsible for managing and executing legal aspects of strategic and complex transactions in close collaboration with C&BD and strategy colleagues and be a key enabler of Novartis’s portfolio and lifecycle management activities and overall enterprise strategy.

 

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Independently manage legal work streams on strategic and complex transactions in close collaboration with C&BD, functional and strategy stakeholders
• Take direct responsibility for legal advice and documentation and related work streams on transactions, including structuring, due diligence, signing, closing and post-closing/integration activities
• Review, draft and negotiate transaction documentation to achieve transaction objectives and reflect agreed commercial terms, due diligence findings, legal and regulatory requirements and internal policies and procedures
• Define transaction objectives with project leads and other stakeholders and develop and implement project plans to achieve them, including timelines, reporting and key deliverables
• Drive robust due diligence processes, including external legal support, to identify, assess and communicate legal, regulatory and deal risks and to propose and implement appropriate risk mitigation
• Work with C&BD, strategy and other business colleagues to ensure appropriate due diligence on other transactions is completed and addressed in transaction structuring and terms
• Develop and implement creative solutions to structuring and legal issues on transactions, working with multiple stakeholders including tax, finance and People & Organization (P&O) and Compensation & Benefits colleagues and external advisors
• Communicate and make recommendations to C&BD colleagues, senior management and other stakeholders in respect of legal and commercial issues arising in connection with transactions
• Support Investor Relations and PR on transaction-related communications
• Support the transition of closed transactions to responsible functional, business and integration/separation teams
• Proactively contribute to the development of a best-in-class transactions team at Novartis and initiatives to improve Novartis Legal
• Manage external legal counsel, including negotiating statements of work, setting and monitoring budgets and ensuring compliance with Novartis external counsel guidelines

Essential Requirements:

Education:

• Law (JD degree) from an accredited law school required.
• Admitted to practice in a major commercial jurisdiction/State in the US (e.g., NY or NJ) required.

Languages:                                                                                               

• Fluent written and spoken English required
• Must be able to draft complex legal documents and negotiate in English

Experience:                                                                                          

• Transactional experience in the life sciences sector, including licensing, co-development, joint ventures, in-out licensing, and divestments is required
• Proven ability to work on multiple projects at any given time in a fast-paced environment
• High attention to detail
• Ability to work independently yet c