Senior Counsel: Operations and Pharmacy Legal

BioSpace; North Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Long-term incentive programs

Job summary

AbbVie in North Chicago, IL, seeks an experienced Senior Counsel to provide strategic legal guidance across commercial, regulatory, and operational matters in a pharmaceutical setting.

You will partner with cross-functional teams to navigate regulatory complexity, assess risk, and influence business outcomes while supporting pharmacy compliance, licensure, and contract requests. JD required with in-house or life sciences experience preferred.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in job location.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a key legal advisor to cross-functional teams on commercial, regulatory, or operational issues.
• Interpret and apply U.S. laws and global regulations relevant to pharma/healthcare.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage a wide range of contracts.
• Advise on federal and state pharmacy laws including DEA and Board of Pharmacy regulations.
• Support licensure, permits, and compliance audits across jurisdictions.

Skills

In-house pharma experience

Pharmacy regulatory experience

Contract review & negotiation

Regulatory compliance guidance

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Job description

Company Description

About AbbVie 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 including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

Empower business innovation through strategic legal guidance. As a Senior Counsel at AbbVie, you will partner closely with cross-functional teams to shape decisions that bring great possibilities to patients ethically and effectively. This role builds on foundational experience, enabling you to navigate regulatory complexity, assess risk, and influence business outcomes, all while developing leadership capabilities for long-term career growth. The role will support various Operations stakeholders, including AbbVie's onsite Pharmacy and advise on pharmacy regulatory compliance, controlled substance management, pharmacy licensure matters, as well as commercial contracts requests.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a key legal advisor to cross-functional business teams, providing proactive counsel on commercial, regulatory, or operational issues Interpret and apply U.S. laws and global regulations relevant to the pharmaceutical or healthcare environment Review and advise on contracts, business activities, and strategic initiatives to ensure legal compliance and alignment with company objectives. Support the development and implementation of legal policies, compliance programs, and training effort.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to manage risk, resolve disputes, and influence outcomes Provide clear, timely guidance on evolving legal questions in a business-first manner
• Translate complex legal/regulatory issues into practical business advice.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage a wide range of commercial contracts.
• Advise the onsite specialty pharmacy team on federal and state pharmacy laws, including DEA and state Board of Pharmacy regulations governing controlled substance procurement, storage, dispensing, and recordkeeping.
• Support specialty pharmacy licensure and permit applications, renewals, and compliance audits across applicable jurisdictions, coordinating with Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance as needed.
• Partner with the pharmacy team to develop and maintain standard operating procedures, policies, and training materials that reflect current legal and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

Required:

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school. Active license to practice law in job location.
• Minimum of 5+ years of relevant experience practicing in-house at a pharmaceutical company, practicing as a member of a nationally recognized law firm in a life sciences or healthcare practice, or practicing as an attorney for a government agency, or any combination of the above.
• Experience advising on pharmacy-related legal matters.

Preferred:

• Exposure to biopharma, healthcare, or life sciences compliance topics
• Demonstrate ability to advise business clients and assess legal risk in real time
• Experience handling complex matters with a degree of autonomy and cross-functional collaboration
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate legal complexity into business clarity

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company's sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

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