Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Transactions & Business Development

Role Summary

Assistant General Counsel, Business Development. You will be a key member of the Elanco Legal team, supporting business development and certain other key functions including finance and tax. You will support complex domestic and international distribution agreements, licensing and collaboration agreements, M&A and related transactions, as well as finance transactions, and contribute to process improvements leveraging AI tools.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal counsel on business development, commercial, and general corporate laws including contract law and regulatory frameworks relevant to a global business.
• Work with business development and partners to execute asset divestitures, strategic partnerships, and other corporate transactions worldwide, ensuring alignment with business strategies and appropriate legal risk positions.
• As a cross-functional deal team member, perform legal due diligence, develop and negotiate deal terms, draft asset purchase and other agreements, ensure regulatory compliance, and manage post-closing integration.
• Advise on finance, tax, and treasury initiatives.
• Lead training and professional development activities for Elanco’s global legal and business development teams on material developments in corporate and transactional law.
• Assist with selecting and engaging outside counsel for complex issues.
• Collaborate to mitigate risk, optimize service levels, and minimize outside counsel usage where practicable.
• Leverage legal expertise to support Elanco in achieving objectives.
• Identify and implement process improvements for the business development and legal teams, including use of technology, AI, internal workflows, processes, and playbooks.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to address legal issues in new and existing initiatives, exploring automation and insourcing opportunities.

Qualifications

• Required: Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; admission to at least one U.S. state bar.
• Required: Minimum of 5 years of experience in business development and corporate law, preferably in a corporate or law firm setting, with substantial experience drafting, negotiating, and executing multi-jurisdictional deals.
• Required: Strong understanding of business development and general corporate law; ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment and provide strategic legal guidance to senior leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the animal health or pharmaceutical industry.
• Experience leading fast-paced business development deals with strong business acumen.
• Excellent interpersonal, strategic thinking, communication, and organizational skills with hands-on problem-solving ability.
• Ability to develop and communicate ideas effectively to senior leaders.
• Familiarity with transactional matters including securities laws, tax, IP, antitrust, employment, finance, data privacy, regulatory, and technology; familiarity with using AI in a legal team.

Education

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school.

Additional Requirements

• Travel: Up to 15% annually.
• Location: Indianapolis HQ