Associate VP-Assistant General Patent Counsel IP Transactions

About the role

We are seeking an experienced, collaborative, meticulous Associate VP-Assistant General Patent Counsel to join our IP Transactions Team within Lilly Legal. This role reports to the Vice President, Assistant General Patent Counsel IP Procurement, IP Transactions, and Strategy.

Responsibilities

• Provide IP legal advice for manufacturing/supply chain transactions relating to innovative technologies for commercial supply chains to advance supply chain resilience across Lilly’s global manufacturing network; this includes drafting, reviewing, and negotiating scientific and IP-related provisions in a range of manufacturing/supply chain agreements.
• Provide IP legal analysis and advice to cross-functional deal teams that facilitate external innovation. Responsibilities include drafting, reviewing, and negotiating scientific and IP-related provisions in a variety of agreements, including complex IP licenses, research collaborations, mergers/acquisitions, material and data transfers, and clinical trial agreements.
• Both of these principal components require substantive IP due diligence, including freedom-to-operate analyses, patentability assessments, analyses of third-party licenses, and related IP issues to inform deal terms, negotiations, and strategy.
• The role will also advise senior leadership and management in manufacturing, business development, therapeutic business units, and Lilly Research Labs and facilitate and coordinate post-execution integration.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree from an accredited U.S. institution.
• Seven or more years of post-JD experience as a practicing patent attorney with significant transaction negotiation experience, including in-licensing, out-licensing, divestures, and acquisitions of platform technology to clinical assets to manufacturing innovation to commercial products, in a law firm or industry.
• Preference may be given to those with experience with commercial supply chain transactions and risk assessment.
• Substantial IP due diligence experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology fields.
• Presently admitted to practice law in at least one US jurisdiction and presently licensed to represent clients in patent matters before the USPTO; in good standing in each state and in the USPTO; no discipline issues on record.
• Significant patent prosecution experience is highly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a scientific field that together with prior work experience, provides essential background for effective communication with scientists and management about scientific aspects of discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of all aspects of pharmaceutical products, including small molecule, antibody, conjugates, radiolabeled ligands, siRNA, gene therapy, cell therapy, and gene editing products.
• Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed in the United States.

Additional Skills/Preferences

• High learning agility;
• Creative problem solver;
• Able to deal with complexity;
• High curiosity;
• Continuous improvement of self and Lilly;
• Accepting and leading change;
• Agility to adapt and evolve;
• Ability to make complex legal and scientific issues understandable and usable to non-IP legal colleagues and to business leaders;
• Demonstrated business acumen with the ability to balance legal risk with strategic business objectives;
• Sensitivity to others;
• Composure under stress;
• Ability to respond to and provide coaching and feedback;
• Ability to organize self to effectively work on and prioritize multiple complex projects simultaneously, to complete projects with deadlines on time, and to direct others;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Excellent interpersonal skills.