Global Head of Litigation & Investigations

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 298,000 - 403,000; Full time

Job summary

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, based in the Cambridge, MA area, is seeking an Executive Director, Head of Litigation to build and lead a best-in-class enterprise litigation function. This is a high-visibility role focused on managing global disputes, government investigations, and related adversarial matters, excluding IP.

The leader will serve as the senior legal advisor to the Chief Legal Officer, the ELT, and the Board, shaping strategy and execution with a practical business orientation.

Qualifications

• JD from an ABA-accredited law school and admission in good standing to at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Approximately 15 years of post-JD experience advising on significant complex litigation and investigations, ideally including both leading law firm experience and substantial in-house experience at a public company.
• Deep experience managing complex litigation and investigations across a broad range of matters and exposures, including commercial and contract disputes, securities and shareholder litigation, employment litigation, product-related claims, government investigations, enforcement proceedings, civil investigative demands and subpoenas, and whistleblower matters.
• Experience with, or meaningful exposure to, antitrust, competition, pricing, distribution, market access, business development, or other competition-law disputes or investigations.
• Experience advising public company leadership on litigation disclosures, accounting reserves, enterprise risk and reputational risk.
• Track record of building, scaling, or modernizing litigation and investigations processes, including intake, matter management, early case assessment, litigation holds, preservation, e-discovery, reporting, and governance.
• Strong working knowledge of e-discovery, litigation hold administration, data preservation, document review, production, legal privilege review, forensic review, and related information governance practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead Alnylam's global strategy for managing and favorably resolving litigation, pre-litigation disputes, and government investigations (other than intellectual property matters).
• Build a scalable operating model for litigation, disputes, and government investigations, including matter intake, docketing and triage, early case assessment, escalation protocols, insurance considerations, liability and reserve assessment, settlement authority and governance, public reporting, and playbooks.
• Advise the Chief Legal Officer, Executive Leadership Team and Board of Directors on material disputes, government investigations, litigation exposures, reserves, insurance coverage, disclosure considerations, and potential financial, operational and reputational implications.
• Select, manage, and evaluate outside litigation counsel, discovery providers, forensic experts, and other vendors, with accountability for strategy, staffing, performance, budget discipline, alternative fee arrangements, and billing practices.
• Develop practical, proportionate, and business-informed litigation and investigation strategies aligned with Alnylam's public company obligations, risk tolerance, values, and long-term interests.
• Develop and maintain appropriate processes for litigation holds, document preservation, e-discovery, document review, production, and records management, in partnership with Legal Operations, Ethics and Compliance, and IT.
• Provide litigation counsel as neccessary in connection with internal investigations led by Ethics & Compliance and other functions, and coordinate company responses to subpoenas, civil investigative demands, agency inquiries, and other formal or informal government requests.
• Manage antitrust and competition-related disputes, civil investigative demands, subpoenas, enforcement proceedings, and related matters, including coordination with internal and external experts across Legal, Ethics & Compliance, and other functions.
• Manage cross-border and multi-jurisdictional disputes and investigations, coordinating with local counsel and internal stakeholders to ensure consistent strategy, appropriate privilege protection, and alignment with global business and legal requirements.
• Partner cross-functionally to identify emerging dispute risk, support risk mitigation, and integrate litigation and investigation strategies with business objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement in litigation operations, including thoughtful use of technology, analytics, and AI-enabled tools for matter management, e-discovery, legal holds, knowledge management, reporting, and budget management.
• Monitor legal, regulatory, enforcement, and litigation developments affecting the life sciences industry and translate them into practical guidance, risk mitigation strategies, and, where appropriate, policy or advocacy engagement.

Skills

Executive leadership

Litigation management

Dispute resolution

E-discovery

Strategic advisory

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Tools

e-discovery software

Job description

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, based in the Cambridge, MA area, is seeking an Executive Director, Head of Litigation to build and lead a best-in-class enterprise litigation function. This is a high-visibility role focused on managing global disputes, government investigations, and related adversarial matters, excluding IP.

The leader will serve as the senior legal advisor to the Chief Legal Officer, the ELT, and the Board, shaping strategy and execution with a practical business orientation.