Legal Counsel, US Corporate & Investments
Genentech
Summary
The US Corporate & Investments legal team of Genentech, a member of the Roche group, is hiring a Counsel attorney position who will report to the Head of the US Corporate & Investments practice group. This role is for a true corporate generalist who will advise and represent the company in a broad range of corporate and contractual matters, including corporate governance, M&A integration, treasury and finance, real estate and procurement, ideally with experience advising clients in biotech/pharma. This position is based onsite in South San Francisco, California and does not include fully-remote as an option, nor relocation benefits.
Job description
The Position
The US Corporate & Investments legal team of Genentech, a member of the Roche group, is hiring a Counsel attorney position who will report to the Head of the US Corporate & Investments practice group. This role is for a true corporate generalist who will advise and represent the company in a broad range of corporate and contractual matters, including corporate governance, M&A integration, treasury and finance, real estate and procurement, ideally with experience advising clients in biotech/pharma. This position is based onsite in South San Francisco, California and does not include fully-remote as an option, nor relocation benefits.
The Opportunity
To be successful in this role, you must have the ability to anticipate and assess legal and business risks associated with complex transactions and also possess a strong aptitude for learning new science and technologies in the bio-pharma and diagnostics spaces. You must be able to work closely and independently with stakeholders in business development, research, development, manufacturing, regulatory, finance, tax and commercial teams. You should feel comfortable leading cross-functional teams and managing competing objectives and demands from a variety of stakeholders. You should be able to clearly and effectively communicate recommendations to legal and non-legal colleagues, including senior executives and business stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
- Providing legal support for all governance and corporate secretary activities in support of Roche's US entities, including Genentech (including state qualification and withdrawal filings, preparing and filing annual reports with Secretaries of State, drafting resolutions and minutes and handling dissolutions).
- Serving as a strategic legal advisor to business leaders on a broad range of general corporate and business matters such as conflicts of interest, insider trading and third-party bankruptcy risks.
- Serving as a key legal point of contact to Roche's global procurement group and Roche's other commercial contracting organizations, and ensuring collaboration and knowledge sharing among the various legal groups that support procurement and contracting.
- Providing support to the corporate business development teams on M&A integrations.
- Supporting Roche's real estate legal practice group.
- Providing strategic advice and legal support for FINRA investigations.
- Advising on industry consortia activities and governance involving the Roche Group.
- Fostering strong relationships with client groups and creating efficient and effective processes for working with clients.
- Supporting legal work for our business development team, including in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, asset purchases, joint ventures, and license and collaboration transactions.
Who You Are
- At least 5 years of relevant legal experience, with at least 3 years at a law firm.
- Must have an advanced law degree (i.e. JD) and must be currently licensed to practice law, in good standing, in at least one U.S. state, and must be registered or currently eligible as a Registered In-House Counsel in California.
- Well rounded corporate and transactional legal practitioner with familiarity in a variety of transaction structures.
- Experience working with publicly traded companies.
- Good judgment and interpersonal skills, and the organizational savvy and diplomatic sensitivities to effectively collaborate with multidisciplinary, diverse and global colleagues.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Tech-savvy and proficient in digital, data, and AI, including large language models, prompt engineering, agentic AI, and their application to legal use cases. Applying critical judgment and legal expertise to verify the accuracy of AI-generated insights and validate digital outputs.
- Prior experience working within a life sciences company is preferred, but not required, but a willingness and interest in learning about the industry and our legal practices are a must.
- The ability to work global working hours is required, frequently being available as early as 6 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
Location
- This role is located at Roche's Genentech campus in South San Francisco, California.
- Relocation benefits are not available for this position.
Requirements
- At least 5 years of relevant legal experience
- At least 3 years at a law firm
- Advanced law degree (JD)
- Currently licensed to practice law in good standing in at least one U.S. state
- Registered or eligible as Registered In-House Counsel in California
- Well rounded corporate and transactional legal practitioner
- Familiarity with a variety of transaction structures
- Experience working with publicly traded companies
- Good judgment and interpersonal skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Tech-savvy and proficient in digital, data, and AI including large language models, prompt engineering, and agentic AI
- Willingness and interest in learning about the life sciences industry
- Ability to work global working hours, frequently available as early as 6 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
Benefits
- Discretionary annual bonus
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- 401(k) Matching
Company overview
Genentech, founded in 1976 and now a member of the Roche Group, is widely recognized as the pioneer of the biotechnology industry. The company has been at the forefront of scientific innovation for nearly 50 years, using human genetic information to develop novel medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Genentech's transformational discoveries include the first targeted antibody for cancer and the first medicine for primary progressive multiple sclerosis. With over 10,000 employees, the company operates from its South San Francisco headquarters and maintains a strong focus on oncology, immunology, neuroscience, ophthalmology, and infectious diseases. Genentech continues to pursue groundbreaking science while maintaining its startup spirit within the Roche organization, consistently delivering on its promise to improve patients' lives through innovative biopharmaceutical solutions.