Senior Corporate Counsel, Business Development Transactions Law

Position Summary

The Senior Corporate Counsel, Business Development Transactions Law position provides senior-level legal counsel, strategic guidance, and transactional support to Bristol Myers Squibb’s business development organization. This role is suited for an experienced transactional attorney who can independently lead complex matters end to end, advise senior business leaders, mentor less experienced attorneys without formal people-management responsibility, and provide practical, business-oriented advice aligned with BMS’s values. This position serves as lead counsel for business development and corporate development transactions—including licensing, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and equity investments. The role requires close partnership with senior business development leaders, deal teams, Alliance Management, specialist legal functions, cross-functional stakeholders, and external counsel to support effective deal execution and risk management.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the structuring, drafting, and negotiation of business development and corporate development transactions—including licensing, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, options, equity investments, and divestitures—from term sheet through execution.
• Define the diligence scope and issue-escalation path for legal due diligence on assigned transactions, in coordination with IP, litigation, antitrust, regulatory, tax, and other specialist functions, and synthesize findings into actionable risk assessments and recommendations for deal teams and senior stakeholders.
• Coordinate antitrust and regulatory strategy for assigned transactions, working with specialist counsel and outside advisors from pre-filing analysis through clearance, and advise on escalation points.
• Own the legal handoff of newly executed transactions to Alliance Management, including knowledge transfer, governance setup, issue spotting, and practical guidance on post-execution implementation.
• Oversee external counsel relationships on assigned matters, including setting workstreams, reviewing advice and deliverables, and ensuring high‑quality, timely, and cost‑effective legal support aligned with business needs.
• Mentor other business development attorneys and contract professionals, review their work product on assigned transactions, and apply the group’s drafting and negotiation standards, without formal people-management responsibility.
• Monitor developments in contract law, relevant regulations, and industry practice that bear on assigned transactions, and advise on implications for negotiation positions, contracting standards, and template updates.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives for business development contracting and alliance management processes, including templates, playbooks, escalation protocols, and knowledge-management resources.

Qualifications & Experience

• J.D. degree and admission to a state bar.
• Minimum 10 years of legal experience, including leading, drafting, and negotiating complex agreements in the biopharmaceutical/life sciences industry.
• Strong working knowledge of the biopharmaceutical/life sciences industry, including deal structures, development and commercialization models, and the regulatory environment.
• Track record as lead counsel on high-value licensing, collaboration, and M&A transactions from term sheet through closing, including directing legal due diligence across IP, litigation, antitrust, regulatory, and tax specialists and managing transactions requiring regulatory clearance.
• Sound independent judgment on significant legal and business issues, with a clear sense of when escalation is required.
• Strong interpersonal skills and executive presence, with the ability to advise and influence senior business stakeholders.
• High integrity and commitment to BMS values.