Corporate Counsel, Contracts

Summit Therapeutics, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 174,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A biopharmaceutical company in the United States is seeking a Corporate Counsel, Contracts to support the Legal Department by managing contract negotiations across various departments. Candidates must have a Juris Doctorate, at least 5 years of legal experience, particularly in the pharmaceutical field, and excellent communication skills. The role offers a competitive salary range of $174,000-$200,000 annually, reflecting the candidate's experience and location, within a collaborative environment aimed at addressing unmet medical needs.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of major law firm and/or in-house experience in pharma or healthcare.
• 2+ years reviewing and negotiating Clinical Trial Agreements.
• Flexibility in a rapidly changing business environment.

Responsibilities

• Review, negotiate, and execute company contracts.
• Draft and negotiate clinical-related contracts.
• Collaborate with business teams to address key legal issues.
• Identify risks and propose alternatives to meet business objectives.

Skills

Legal analysis

Contract negotiation

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Organization

Education

Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school

Admitted to a US state bar in good standing

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Access

Job description

Join to apply for the Corporate Counsel, Contracts role at Summit Therapeutics, Inc.

Summit Therapeutics Inc. is a biopharmaceutical oncology company with a mission focused on improving quality of life, increasing potential duration of life, and resolving serious unmet medical needs. At Summit, we believe in building a team of world‑class professionals who are passionate about this mission, and it is our people who drive this mission to reality. Summit’s core values include integrity, passion for excellence, purposeful urgency, collaboration, and a commitment to people. Our employees are truly the heart and soul of our culture, and they are invaluable in shaping our journey toward excellence.

Summit’s team is inspired to touch and help change lives through our clinical studies in the field of oncology. Summit has multiple global Phase 3 clinical studies, including Non‑small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and the HARMONi series of studies for ivonescimab.

Overview Of Role

The Corporate Counsel, Contracts is responsible for supporting the review, negotiation, and execution of company contracts across multiple departments. This position supports the Legal Department and partners with clinical, quality, medical affairs, finance, research & development, HR, IT and other internal clients from other departments to draft and negotiate contracts that protect the company from risk, support company business objectives, and ensure compliance with company guidelines.

Role And Responsibilities

• Collaborate with attorneys and other legal staff in other practice areas to proactively identify and address key legal issues for the business teams.
• Draft, review, analyze and negotiate clinical related contracts, including clinical trial agreements, ancillary agreements, investigator sponsored studies, collaboration and development agreements, sponsored research agreements, and agreements with contract research organizations. May also draft and negotiate consulting agreements, master services agreements and related statements of work, promotional speaker bureau agreements, vendor and service contracts, IT software license agreements, HR benefit and contractor agreements, leases, and confidentiality or non‑disclosure agreements.
• Liaise between the internal business units and external parties, ensuring that all legal and contractual matters are addressed efficiently and promptly; escalate matters, as necessary, to reduce company risk and help ensure company business objectives are met.
• Promptly respond to complex inquiries regarding contract obligations and revisions.
• Identify risks and issues, propose alternatives that meet company business objectives while also reducing company risk.
• Review and track in‑process and on‑going agreements.
• Support company employees regarding the Contract Management process.
• Interact with Intellectual Property Counsel to ensure appropriate handling of intellectual property issues in agreements.
• Interact with Regulatory Counsel and Compliance to ensure appropriate handling of regulatory/compliance issues in contract matters.
• Interact with Quality Assurance to ensure appropriate handling of quality matters.
• Prepare template agreements, modify existing templates and prepare unique agreements as required.
• Ensure clear and prompt communication with company employees and outside parties regarding status of, or issues in, contracts.
• Handle miscellaneous legal tasks or special assignments on an as‑needed basis.
• All other duties as assigned.

Experience, Education And Specialized Knowledge And Skills

• Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school, and admitted to a US state bar in good standing.
• Minimum of 5+ years of major law firm and/or in‑house experience with a pharmaceutical, medical device, or healthcare company, with a minimum of 2+ years reviewing and negotiating Clinical Trial Agreements (U.S. and ex‑U.S.).
• Precise drafting and strong legal analysis skills, and knowledge of the regulations and statutes and industry guidelines impacting pharmaceutical research, development and commercial contracts, including data privacy.
• Proficient with Word and have a working knowledge of Excel and Microsoft Access.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; ability to work effectively and efficiently with all levels of management and personnel.
• Strong organizational and planning skills and meticulous attention to detail.
• Self‑starter with the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team environment.
• Ability to handle competing priorities in a fast‑paced environment and exercise sound commercial and legal judgment.
• Must be flexible due to rapidly changing business environment for a growth company.

The pay range for this role is $174,000-$200,000 annually. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. The total compensation package for this position may also include bonus, stock, benefits and/or other applicable variable compensation.

Seniority Level

Director

Employment Type

Full‑time

Job Function

Strategy/Planning and Information Technology