Legal Counsel- R&D

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

AbbVie’s Clinical R&D Legal team is seeking an experienced attorney to partner with, and provide strategic legal and business advice to, the company’s global R&D organization. The Legal Counsel, Clinical R&D Legal, will be an integral part of a solutions-oriented team of attorneys and paralegals that supports advancement of AbbVie’s pipeline and delivery of innovative products to patients.  The attorney will provide advice on a wide range of legal, regulatory, contractual, privacy and compliance issues related to clinical research and drug, medical device and aesthetic product development with a focus on China. For candidates with strong leadership and critical thinking skills, this role provides the opportunity to work cross-functionally with teams across research and development, regulatory, intellectual property, privacy and ethics and compliance. In this role, the Legal Counsel will be expected to interact regularly and effectively with management, internal business stakeholders, and third-party partners. They must be creative, strategic and innovative in compliantly solving complex legal problems, advising clients on such matters and negotiating critical clinical agreements to advance AbbVie’s clinical assets.

Core Job Responsibilities:

The Legal Counsel, Clinical R&D, will be responsible for identifying and resolving complex legal issues and drafting and negotiating agreements. The responsibilities of the Legal Counsel, Clinical R&D, will include:

• Drafting, reviewing, providing guidance to and collaborating with AbbVie’s contract management team to negotiate a wide variety of agreements, including clinical study and collaborative research agreements, services agreements that support clinical research operations and other transactional and complex R&D agreements with research partners
• Developing and reviewing patient informed consent forms for use in clinical research and incorporating feedback from regulatory authorities and/or ethics committees
• Serving as a subject matter expert on R&D legal and regulatory matters in China to advance clinical assets in this region
• Conducting training to client groups on a variety of R&D legal and regulatory issues
• Advising the AbbVie Clinical Development and Medical Affairs organizations in connection with clinical research activities throughout the phases of clinical development
• Clearly communicating legal guidance on complex matters related to clinical research, including study participant privacy and rights, data integrity, site and investigator non-compliance, fraud and abuse matters and digital health
• Collaboratively interacting with internal business stakeholders, other Legal functions, Office of Ethics and Compliance, regulatory, third-party partners, and R&D and Legal leadership

• Must meet the professional licensing requirement of the jurisdiction in which they practice
• Experience in healthcare or life science industry, specialized in advising on R&D legal issues is preferred, such as clinical trial designs, and working understanding of laws and regulations impacting clinical research and development of drugs, medical devices, and aesthetics products in China 
• Ability to support achieving business objectives by providing clear and practical counsel, including evaluating and managing risk, and to use legal training to maximize business opportunities
• Excellent legal analysis skills, good judgment and the ability to identify and quickly address critical issues; solid law firm experience preferred 
• Strong interpersonal skills, including diplomacy and flexibility, and the ability to communicate concisely and effectively with partners at all levels
• Ability to work well independently and on a team and can prioritize multiple matters
• 5 or more years of relevant experience. Some in-house experience preferred
• Mandarin fluency; proficiency in English

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives, serving our community and embracing diversity and inclusion.  It is AbbVie’s policy to employ qualified persons of the greatest ability without discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected group status.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html 

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html