Sr. Counsel, Commercial Law

Mars Veterinary Health; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 146,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

Mars Veterinary Health seeks a Senior Counsel, Commercial Law to support North American business units across a broad range of commercial matters. You will draft, negotiate, and advise on complex agreements, ensuring risk-balanced outcomes and regulatory compliance.

Work within MVH’s centralized legal CoE, collaborate with Commercial, Medical and Scientific Affairs, IT, Finance, and Operations, and mentor junior attorneys while aligning with Mars Responsible AI standards.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school and licensed to practice law in the United States.
• 8+ years of commercial legal experience preferred, including significant in-house experience at a large, global organization.
• Demonstrated expertise in drafting and negotiating complex commercial and third party strategic alliance agreements.
• Strong working knowledge of contract law, UCC principles (U.S.), privacy/data use issues, and risk management strategies.
• Track record of providing actionable, business-focused legal counsel to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment; experience in a COE/shared services model is highly preferred.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with a team-oriented mindset.

Responsibilities

• Provide practical, risk-balanced legal advice on a broad range of commercial matters for North American business units, including vendor/customer agreements, distribution contracts, licensing and technology agreements, SLAs, NDAs, MOUs, and intercompany agreements.
• Support strategic sourcing and procurement activities, including pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment, and related services.
• Assist MVH Real Estate and Facilities Management on leasing matters and other activities.
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex agreements for MVH Commercial, Medical and Scientific Affairs.
• Balance workload across a centralized pool of legal professionals and advise on contract interpretation and dispute resolution.
• Partner with stakeholders to standardize templates, policies, and processes, and support cross-border transactions with global alignment.
• Mentor junior attorneys and collaborate with privacy/security teams on AI use cases under Mars Responsible AI standards.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Legal counsel

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory awareness

Data privacy

Risk management

Education

Juris Doctor (JD) from ABA-accredited law school

Job description

As part of the Mars Petcare family of businesses, Mars Veterinary Health is a global network of veterinary practices made possible by 75,000 Associates who care for millions of pets across nearly 3,000 clinics in more than 20 countries each year. We are committed to leveraging our reach to make a long-term positive impact on people, pets, and the planet and know our Purpose – A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS – starts with the people who care for them. We strive to offer unparalleled veterinary care for pets by first and foremost enabling and empowering our Associates to do what they love, whether in primary, specialty, and emergency care or management and leadership.

This role requires associates to work out of a MVH North America hub location – Vancouver, WA | Santa Monica, CA | Tampa, FL

Why This Role Matters:

The Senior Counsel, Commercial Law supports Mars Veterinary Health’s (MVH) business units in North America, including Banfield, BluePearl, and VCA. This role is part of the MVH Legal function’s regional Commercial Law Center of Excellence & Deployment (CoE&D), a collaborative pool of legal resources, designed to flexibly support business needs, balance workloads across the team, and provide responsive, high impact commercial law guidance across multiple business lines and jurisdictions, including outside the United States with the assistance of local counsel.

The Senior Counsel, Commercial Law provides responsive, business-oriented legal support across a diverse portfolio of commercial transactions and strategic and operational matters, based on deep expertise in commercial contracts, risk allocation, third party strategic collaborations, and legal support for cross-functional business operations. The role requires strong drafting and negotiation skills, business acumen, and a collaborative mindset.

You Will:

• Provide practical, risk-balanced legal advice on a broad range of commercial matters for North American business units, including:
• Vendor and customer agreements
• Distribution contracts
• Licensing and technology agreements
• Service-level agreements (SLAs), NDAs, MOUs, Mars intercompany agreements and other legal documentation
• Strategic sourcing and indirect and direct procurement activities, including pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment, and related services
• Support on leasing matters and other activities of the MVH Real Estate and Facilities Management team
• Agreements related to strategic initiatives of the MVH Medical and Scientific Affairs teams
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex agreements related MVH Commercial, Medical and Scientific Affairs activities and third party strategic collaborations, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements while aligning with business strategy.
• Operate as part of a centralized pool of legal professionals, dynamically balancing workload and responding to shifting priorities across multiple business units.
• Management of outside counsel where required.
• Advise business stakeholders on contract interpretation, dispute resolution, and enforcement issues, escalating matters where necessary.
• Partner closely with a broad spectrum of internal MVH stakeholders (e.g., Commercial, Medical and Scientific Affairs, IT, Finance, Legal, and Operations) and greater Mars to develop and standardize contract templates, policies, and processes.
• Support cross-border transactions, agreements and international stakeholders in collaboration with Legal colleagues across regions to ensure global alignment.
• Stay current on changes in commercial law and regulatory developments in North America, including Canada, proactively identifying potential impacts to the business.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the team and the capabilities of other key stakeholders such as MVH Commercial, including development of playbooks, training, and process enhancements.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to more junior attorneys and other Legal staff, as needed.
• Work closely with privacy and security teams to review new AI use cases that meet Mars Responsible AI standards. Provide input on new AI and other technologies or processes that promote legal operations efficiencies.
• Advise stakeholders on legal/regulatory risks associated with client and associate personal or other sensitive/proprietary information and data. Advise on client privacy rights requests and other privacy or security matters, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Provide legal guidance on data protection and manage privacy incident response with Mars Privacy
• Live and exemplify the Five Principles of Mars, Inc. within self and team.
• Other job duties as assigned.

Your Experience Should Include:

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school and licensed to practice law in the United States.
• 8+ years of commercial legal experience preferred, including significant experience as in-house counsel for a large, matrixed, or global organization.
• Demonstrated expertise in drafting and negotiating complex commercial and third party strategic alliance agreements.
• Strong working knowledge of contract law, UCC principles (U.S.), privacy/data use issues, and risk management strategies.
• Track record of success providing actionable, business-focused legal counsel to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment, delivering high-quality legal services under tight deadlines.
• Experience working in a Center of Excellence, shared services model, or similar matrixed environment is highly preferred.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with a team-oriented mindset.

Salary Range: $145,600 - $244,562.50

Compensation is determined based on education, experience, and other relevant credentials. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, location, and market competitiveness.