Legal Counsel

Company Description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

AbbVie is one of the world's leading research-based biopharmaceutical companies, and we're looking for a  Legal Counsel to serve as a trusted legal partner to our India business. This is a rare opportunity to operate at the intersection of commercial law, governance, and strategy. As Legal Counsel, you will serve as a true strategic business partner to AbbVie's India leadership, providing high-quality, commercially grounded legal advice across the full breadth of the business.

You will possess exceptional legal expertise and strategic thinking, shaping the legal frameworks that enable AbbVie India to operate with confidence and ambition. This is a cross-functional role in the truest sense: you will work alongside commercial, medical, regulatory, finance, and HR teams. 

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES

• Lead the drafting, review, and negotiation of complex commercial agreements — from vendor and distribution agreements to manufacturing, supply, and HCP engagement contracts, ensuring AbbVie's interests are protected and business outcomes are enabled.
• Independently act as the primary legal advisor and strategic partner to AbbVie India, identifying legal issues and risks and providing timely, practical, and commercially astute counsel across commercial, and governance matters.
• Independently manage and resolve disputes and litigation, leveraging external counsel strategically to deliver optimal outcomes for the business.
• Support and/or drive workstreams within the Legal Therapeutics team on strategic matters, novel areas of law, or business transactions.
• Drive consistency and efficiency across legal operations by maintaining and developing contract templates, playbooks, and legal frameworks that scale with the business 
• Design and deliver engaging legal training programmes that build legal literacy and a strong compliance culture across business and functional teams.
• Partner with regional and global legal teams on strategic business matters — contributing to AbbVie's broader international legal network.
• Serve as a key contributor to strategic planning helping to shape the direction of AbbVie's India affiliate.

Qualifications

• LLB / BA LLB from a reputable university
• Minimum 8-10 years of post-qualification experience, combining top-tier law firm practice with in-house counsel experience at a multinational organisation
• Prior in-house experience within a global pharmaceutical/life sciences and/or medical devices company 
• Confident in managing risks and navigating legal and regulatory complexities to make comprehensive decisions which prioritise key business priorities and are consistent with the law and AbbVie’s Code of Conduct and policies.
• Demonstrated ability to advise across multiple areas of law — commercial contracts, regulatory, compliance, governance, and/or dispute resolution
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills — the ability to translate complex legal matters into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal audiences
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Confident in managing risks and navigating legal and regulatory complexities to make comprehensive decisions which prioritise key business priorities and are consistent with the law and AbbVie’s Code of Conduct and policies.
• A self-starter with strong commercial acumen and the ability to balance legal risk with business pragmatism in a fast-moving environment

Additional Information

WAYS WE WORK

• All For One Abbvie; We weigh all decisions against the common good. We inspire, share and create as a team. We solve problems for all rather than serving our immediate team.
• Decide Smart & Sure; We make intelligent decisions to create the best outcomes. We act quickly, embrace experimentation, and learn what doesn’t work and get on to what does.
• Agile & Accountable; We streamline and eliminate unnecessary obstacles. We plan but adapt as we go. We delegate and make tough decisions to ensure focus on results, staying keenly aware of the urgency in all we do.
• Clear & Courageous; Open, honest, candid dialogue is core to our work and how we act with each other. We share information freely and continuously to find solutions. We admit mistakes. We grow stronger by putting the courage of our conviction to the test.
• Make Possibilities Real; We question with endless curiosity. We’re never satisfied with good enough—patients depend on us to deliver more. We challenge ourselves to find creative, constructive solutions to turn possibilities into reality.

CODE OF CONDUCT & BUSINESS INTEGRITY STATEMENT

• AbbVie is committed to observing high integrity and ethical standards in all its business dealings with our customers, with each other, business partners and suppliers. 
• AbbVie as a responsible corporate citizen will adhere to these standards, as well as to local, national and international laws. 
• All AbbVie employees are responsible for maintaining the Company’s reputation for conduct in accordance with the highest level of business integrity, ethics and compliance with the law. 
• Soliciting and/or accepting/attempting/offering bribes or any illegal gratification is therefore cause for immediate dismissal. 
• AbbVie is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives, serving our community, and embracing diversity and inclusion. 

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. 

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html