Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Transactions & Business Development

Role Summary

Assistant General Counsel, Business Development leads legal support for business development, licensing, collaborations, M&A and related transactions, with emphasis on process improvements and potential AI-enabled initiatives. This role supports finance and tax functions and works within Elanco’s global legal team to mitigate risk and enable business objectives.

Responsibilities

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

Qualifications

• Required: Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school; admission to at least one U.S. state bar.
• Required: Minimum of 5 years of experience in business development or corporate law, preferably in a corporate or law firm setting, with significant 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 legal and strategic guidance to senior management.
• Preferred: Experience in the animal health or pharmaceutical industry.
• Preferred: Experience leading and executing fast-paced business development deals; excellent interpersonal, strategic thinking, communication, and organizational skills; problem-solving mindset.
• Preferred: 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.

Skills

• Strong strategic thinking and advisory capabilities for senior leadership
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to develop and convey complex legal concepts clearly to non-lawyers
• Proficiency in coordinating multi-disciplinary teams across geographies

Education

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; admission to at least one U.S. state bar

Additional Requirements

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