Executive Director & Senior Litigation Counsel

Major accountabilities:

Global Litigation:

A senior role within the global litigation team handling group material and/or important litigation around the world.

Evaluate cases and formulate litigation and investigative strategies.

Advise the Global Head of Litigation and Investigations as well as other members of senior management on dispute and risk exposure, and strategies for minimizing adverse consequences and reputational risk.

Oversee and facilitate complex disputes and manage cross-border discovery requests and analyses.

Collaborate with and support the legal discovery process and forensic techniques. 

Manage outside litigation counsel, discovery vendors, litigation hold processes, our RFP process for new matters, engagement terms, and billing policies.

Proactively counsel our legal and business partners on litigation risk assessments and mitigation measures. 

Remain current regarding trends and developments in litigation and enforcement and provide advice regarding same.

Global Internal Investigations

A senior role within the Global Legal investigations team handling group material and other important legally privileged internal investigations around the world.

Advise the Global Head of Litigation and Investigations, and the Head of Legal Investigations, regarding risk exposure, and strategies for minimizing adverse consequences and reputational risk.

Manage interactions with Whistleblowers or other confidential reporters/informants.

Manage high-risk internal investigations and evaluate findings and develop mitigation and remediation strategies.

Evaluate legal necessity of disclosing findings to government authorities, including strategies to maximize credit for self-disclosure.

Support remediation activities and local investigations globally to mitigate future risk and position the Company to receive remediation credit and avoid adverse consequences (e.g. compliance monitors) in the event of government inquiries.

Conduct best practices investigative and enforcement trends trainings.

Support the team in ensuring alignment with internal functions (e.g., SpeakUp, Global Security, Audit, etc.) on best practices to conduct investigations and mitigate risk through assurance activities.

Manage outside investigative counsel, discovery vendors, litigation hold processes, our RFP process for new matters, engagement terms, and billing policies.

Government investigations

Working with the Global Head of Litigation and Investigations and the Head of Legal Investigations, manage the defense of/response to government investigations initiated against a Novartis entity world-wide.

Assess factual, legal, and policy responses to government investigations and develop strategies to maximize receipt of cooperation credit and to mitigate risk of penalties, compliance monitors, and other sanctions.

Evaluate complex multi-jurisdictional/multi country government investigations for resolution.

Assess factual, legal, and policy responses to government investigations and develop strategies to maximize receipt of cooperation credit and to mitigate risk of penalties, compliance monitors, and other sanctions.

Support the negotiation of high impact/high profile settlements with government regulators/prosecutors.

Work closely with our public policy colleagues to analyze and respond to regulatory matters

Minimum Requirements:

US qualified lawyer with extensive experience in litigation and internal investigations.  Experience as a US prosecutor and/or prior in-house experience a plus.  Pharmaceutical industry experience a plus but not required.

Minimum of 10-15 years’ experience required based on depth of experience.

Benefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams’ representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Novartis Compensation and Benefit Summary: The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $233,600.00 - $350,400.00 / year; however, while salary ranges are effective from 1/1/24 through 12/31/24, fluctuations in the job market may necessitate adjustments to pay ranges during this period. Further, final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to geographical location, experience level, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and discretionary awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.