Legal Associate

Wave Life Sciences USA, Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 129,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Wave Life Sciences USA, Inc. in Cambridge, MA is seeking a Legal Associate to join the Legal Team and support a broad range of corporate matters.

The role focuses on SEC reporting, corporate governance, budgeting, and database management, partnering with cross-functional teams across the organization. You will handle document preparation and filing for SEC reports, manage data rooms and equity administration activities, and contribute to process improvements while advancing anti-risk compliance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is required; paralegal certification strongly preferred.
• 5+ years of paralegal or corporate legal experience, preferably in pharmaceutical/biotechnology.
• Experience preparing and supporting SEC filings (Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, proxy statement, Form 4s/144s).
• Experience with data rooms and legal operations platforms.
• Familiarity with equity administration, including 10b5-1, preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted resource to Legal, Finance, People & Culture, and Corporate Affairs teams on governance and legal operations.
• Provide cross-functional project management and implementation for Legal and other departments.
• Drive improvement of legal processes, templates, systems, and workflows.
• Assist in preparation, drafting and filing of SEC reports and disclosures (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, proxy, Section 16).
• Maintain and administer databases and data room, support diligence activities.
• Manage invoicing and budgeting for Legal Team, including vendor relations and reporting.
• Oversee maintenance of subsidiaries, registrations, and annual reporting requirements.
• Support equity administration activities and stock plan documentation.
• Manage EDGAR Next system enrollment and annual requirements.
• Conduct legal research and summarize results to support decisions.
• Assist Board of Directors materials and annual director/officer questionnaires.
• Coordinate annual shareholder meeting planning.
• Perform special projects as needed.

Skills

Attention to detail

Discretion

Project management

Communication

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Prioritization

Adaptability

MS Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree

Paralegal certification

Tools

Virtual data rooms

Legal operations platforms

MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook)

EDGAR Next system

Job description

Wave Life Sciences is a biotechnology company focused on unlocking the broad potential of RNA medicines to transform human health. Our RNA medicines platform, PRISM, combines multiple modalities, chemistry innovation and deep insights in human genetics to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and prevalent disorders. Our toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities including RNAi silencing and RNA editing provides us with unmatched capabilities for designing and sustainably delivering candidates that optimally address disease biology. Our diversified pipeline is focused on our obesity, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and PNPLA3 I148M liver disease programs and includes clinical programs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease, as well as several preclinical programs utilizing our versatile RNA medicines platform. Driven by the calling to “Reimagine Possible”, we are leading the charge toward a world in which human potential is no longer hindered by the burden of disease.

Description:

Wave is seeking a Legal Associate to join our Legal Team. The Legal Associate will support a broad range of legal and corporate matters, including SEC reporting, corporate governance, accounting and budgeting, and database management, among others. Reporting to the Director, Legal, the Legal Associate will serve as a flexible, solutions-oriented partner to the Legal Team and cross-functional stakeholders throughout the organization. This role is designed to provide broad exposure across corporate legal activities and to evolve with the needs of the business.

Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree is required; paralegal certification strongly preferred
• 5+ years of relevant paralegal or corporate legal experience, preferably within the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry
• Demonstrated experience preparing and supporting SEC filings, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, proxy statement, and Section 16 filings (Form 4s and 144s)
• Experience working with virtual data rooms and legal operations technology platforms
• Familiarity with equity administration, including 10b5-1 sales plans, preferred

Responsibilities:

• Serve as a trusted resource to the Legal, Finance, People & Culture, and Corporate Affairs teams on corporate governance and legal operations matters
• Provide cross-functional project management and project implementation for the operational activities of the Legal team and other departments
• Drive continuous improvement of legal department processes, templates, systems, and workflows
• Support preparation, drafting, and filing of SEC reports and disclosures, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, proxy statement, and Section 16 filings (Form 4s and 144s), in collaboration with internal stakeholders
• Contribute to the development, implementation, review and maintenance of various databases and platforms; serve as the administrator of the company’s data room and disclosure backup book; supports diligence activities
• Manage the invoicing and budgeting process for the Legal Team, including invoice tracking, vendor relationships, and budget monitoring and reporting
• Lead ongoing maintenance of domestic and international subsidiaries, and related compliance matters for registrations and state filings, including annual reporting requirements and surveys
• Support equity administration activities, including 10b5-1 sales plan communication, training, and submission cycles; management of stock plan documentation and reporting matters
• Management of EDGAR Next system, including enrollment and all annual requirements
• Conduct multi-disciplinary legal research to include gathering data, performing appropriate analysis and summarizing of results to support decision making
• Assist with various matters for the company’s Board of Directors, including ongoing maintenance and upkeep of corporate minute book, preparation of board and committee meeting materials, and annual director and officer questionnaires
• Assist with coordination and planning of the annual shareholder meeting
• Perform special projects and related responsibilities, as needed

Key Skills:

• Commitment to integrity and ethical conduct; ability to handle confidential and proprietary information using excellent discretion and judgment
• Strong work ethic, exemplary professionalism, and interpersonal skills
• Proactive, accountable and lives up to commitments; ability to prioritize and meet deadlines
• Flexibility and can-do attitude to manage unexpected situations successfully and thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication, including drafting and proofreading skills
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills
• Ability to work well independently and collaborate with others
• Strong project management skills with the ability to multi-task and reprioritize quickly and efficiently
• Experience with a variety of platforms to demonstrate efficient database management and administration
• Openness to learn and leverage technological solutions
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills with the ability to exercise mature judgment
• Proficient skills in MS Suite applications including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook

Pay Range Disclosure Statement

$129,000—$175,000 USD

The range provided is based on what we believe is a reasonable estimate for the annual base salary pay range for this position at the time of posting. Actual annual base salary will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant skills, experience, qualifications, position criticality, and internal equity. This position is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus and discretionary stock-based long-term incentives. In addition to compensation, Wave offers a comprehensive and competitive range of benefits designed to support our employees’ and their families physical and financial health and overall well-being. These include, but are not limited to, company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, life, long and short-term disability insurances, generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), 401K participation with matching contributions, and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Wave Life Sciences provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Wave Life Sciences complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Wave Life Sciences expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Wave Life Sciences’ employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.

We value our relationships with professional recruitment firms. To protect the interests of all parties, and given the large volume of inquiries received from third-party placement agencies, we are not able to respond to all agency inquiries. We do not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates for current or future positions. Submission of unsolicited resumes in advance of a signed agreement between our company and a placement agency does not create an implied obligation and, if an unsolicited candidate represented by a placement agency is hired, we are not obligated to pay a fee. Only approved recruitment firms will be allowed to provide services to Wave Life Sciences, USA.

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Wave Life Sciences is committed to respecting your privacy. We do not sell or rent personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.Any Personal Information you share with us will be used for business purposes, such as communication with you, and handled in accordance with Wave’s Privacy Policy, Notice, Statements, and Additional Information. Wave collects, evaluates and retains candidate data for the legitimate interest of selecting a candidate for employment or contract purposes. Such data will be kept for no longer than necessary to carry out those purposes, unless you consent for your information to be retained up to an additional three (3) years for consideration for future opportunities at Wave. Any requests related to your Personal Information may be electronically submitted to Wave’s Data Protection Officer at https://wavelifesciences.com/privacy/.

If you choose to share your demographic background (such as race, gender or sex, national origin, age, disability or veterinary status) by completing the optional survey, your responses will be combined with the answers from other applicants in an aggregated and anonymized form which may be used for equal employment opportunity reporting, diversity and inclusion analysis, and to help us evaluate the effectiveness of our recruiting practices. The information you share will not be used for hiring decisions or provided to hiring managers or interviewers.