Senior Director, Associate General Counsel - Head of Patent Litigation

Reporting directly to the VP, Head of Litigation as a member of the group's leadership team, Genentech is seeking a Senior Director, Associate General Counsel - Head of Patent Litigation to lead a team of attorneys focused on defending our innovations in close partnership with our business and IP colleagues. The right candidate will serve as a senior partner and strategist to the business needs of Genentech, a member of the Roche group. We are looking for candidates with deep experience in the life sciences and, in particular, with biosimilars patent litigations and proceedings, either as an in-house attorney or a law firm partner. The role also includes the opportunity to run litigations directly, both in the patent space and in the commercial space.

This position is based onsite at our South San Francisco, California campus and is not suitable for a fully-remote working arrangement. Relocation benefits are available for this job posting.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Key responsibilities of this role include the following:

• Leads and manages a team of litigation attorneys in designing and driving global litigation strategies for our Intellectual Property Litigation team (patents, trade secrets, etc.) that is innovative, high value, business enabling, and global in impact and alignment across our sister companies. This includes assessing, communicating and mitigating risk, and identifying and exploiting new opportunities and approaches, leveraging both a knowledge of industry trends and of the competitive landscape across Genentech and Roche portfolios.

• Specializes in patent litigations in the life sciences, including experience with both Hatch-Waxman ANDA and BPCIA biosimilars matters, ideally both in court and at the PTAB.

• Provides leadership and coaching for your team in a global matrixed environment, inspiring your team to perform at their best, modeling key behaviors, and optimizing their growth opportunities and capabilities to successfully contribute and operate in the global environment.

• Prioritizes work of the team, oversees workload and resource allocation, and supports direct reports on the prioritization of high-value work and assignments.

• Serves as an active and engaged member of Genentech's Litigation Practice Group (LPG) Leadership team.

• Advises senior executives and leaders of affected business units on the risks, benefits, and likelihood of successful outcomes associated with IP litigation matters, and recommends and influences significant decisions about such matters.

• Actively and effectively partners with stakeholders at all levels of the global organization and across all phases of research, drug development and commercialization to provide business enabling strategies, counseling and recommendations. This includes finding opportunities to partner with Legal colleagues and the business in service of our Legal Priorities of connecting around the work and co-owning business outcomes.

• Steps back from the work to see the big picture and set litigation and business strategy that best serves the practice's and company's long-term vision and goals, and envisions and prepares for challenges that may soon come our way.

• Manages external litigation counsel relationships, including compliance with internal guidelines for fee arrangements, budgets, and billing.

• Directly manages a variety of litigations as needed and where time permits, including outside IP litigation.

• Ability to travel in conjunction with managing and resolving disputes.

CRITICAL COMPETENCIES

Visionary:

• Impacts the business by sensing and proactively seizing opportunities to create value; being an excellent strategist and influencer; acts with courage and integrity in tackling difficult or challenging issues within as well as beyond the practice area.

Architect:

• Proactively evolves and innovates our substantive practices in Litigation to meet changing legal and business needs, focusing on solutions that are good for the enterprise rather than particular stakeholders. Develops and deploys strategies, processes, and operating standards to ensure highest quality practices and execution for all aspects of litigation in a high performing, agile team.

Coach:

• Prioritizes efforts, creative energy and attention to ensure robust value-add practices on a day-to-day basis as well as success across the global company.

• Acts as a role model in clear communication, active listening, poise under pressure, solution-oriented mindset, collaboration across local and global teams, persevering in the face of obstacles, tackling new challenges with curiosity and openness to learning, effectively utilizing available resources, and committing to iterate with humility in service of the team.

• Cultivating a culture of trust and psychological safety to enable bold thinking.

Catalyst:

• Exemplifies winning as "one team" through building effective relationships, and communicating and collaborating enthusiastically across time zones and cultures.

• Provides strategic and courageous thought partnership within and beyond litigation with colleagues and the business, with the courage to raise your hand even outside your area of expertise to challenge others and the status quo.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 12+ years of litigation experience either in-house or at a top-tier law firm, which MUST include a focus on pharmaceutical, biotechnology or related life science matters where you directly managed complex adversarial matters.

• A U.S. law degree (J.D.) and current "good standing" admission to at least one U.S. state bar, or be eligible to apply to California's Registered In-House Counsel program.

• Demonstrated experience and track record of success in:

  • Closely managing and setting innovative strategies in patent litigations;

  • Developing and implementing global strategies or initiatives, both substantive and operational;

  • Leading teams and managing people, either directly, or indirectly as part of a matrixed team;

  • Successfully negotiating and reaching favorable settlement agreements.

• Excellent academic credentials required.

• A degree (undergraduate or graduate) in a biological science or chemistry is preferred, but not required.

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of California is $247,800 and $460,200.Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.

Benefits

Genentech is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy and practice to employ, promote, and otherwise treat any and all employees and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence. The company's policy prohibits unlawful discrimination, including but not limited to, discrimination on the basis of Protected Veteran status, individuals with disabilities status, and consistent with all federal, state, or local laws.

If you have a disability and need an accommodation in relation to the online application process, please contact us by completing this form Accommodations for Applicants.