At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.
BROAD FUNCTION
The Senior Director - General Counsel, Korea is responsible for the legal function and for managing overall the risk profile of the business across the Korea affiliate. As the sole in-country legal resource, the General Counsel covers the full scope of legal support for the affiliate whilst drawing on the IBU Legal team and external counsel for additional capacity and specialist expertise. The General Counsel is a member of the Korea affiliate Leadership Team and is expected to engage with senior leaders within the affiliate and the International Business Unit (IBU) to provide expert legal and ethical guidance on affiliate strategy, decisions, and activities, as well as day-to-day advice in support of multiple functions, and serves as the primary legal point of contact for the General Manager, Korea.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Serve as a core member of the Korea affiliate Leadership Team, providing strategic legal counsel on the full range of affiliate decisions, plans, and activities.
- Proactively provide legal counsel on a broad range of pharmaceutical-related Korean laws and regulations and on various products, processes, and services, prioritizing the most significant legal risks and needs.
- Partner with functional leaders and with other Legal colleagues on diverse projects at both affiliate and IBU level, ensuring incorporation of the latest and cutting-edge interpretations of applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards.
- Drive integrated solutions to cross-functional issues that have a legal dimension, including promotional activities, market access, pricing and reimbursement, and government affairs matters.
- Advise, from a legal perspective, on the exploitation of business opportunities and protect the company's interests, demonstrating strong business understanding and acumen.
- Support company compliance efforts by fostering a culture of ethics and compliance and partnering with Ethics & Compliance colleagues; including active participation in compliance and brand review committees.
- Monitor, identify, interpret, and timely communicate to business partners and to the supervisor relevant changes in Korean law and regulation, and provide legal training as necessary.
- Advise on, draft, review, and negotiate a variety of agreements relating to the company's business. Lead complex negotiations independently.
- Manage litigation, disputes, government investigations, and regulatory enforcement matters in Korea, in collaboration with IBU colleagues, and engaging and directing external counsel as needed.
- Make decisions that impact a broad range of processes and projects, acting as an influential leader whose technical and strategic advice is highly valued by internal clients.
- Anticipate and resolve complex matters in specific areas of accountability with limited supervision.
- Provide strong internal leadership on complex legal or business issues that impact Lilly's organization across Korea, via active membership in internal committees (e.g., governance meetings, compliance committees, trade association participation).
INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
Korea affiliate General Manager and Leadership Team; all Korea affiliate business functions (Medical, Commercial, Market Access, Ethics & Compliance, Finance, HR, Communications, Government Affairs). IBU Legal team. Corporate Legal functions as appropriate.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
- Law Degree and ability to practice law in Korea.
- Minimum 10+ years of legal experience, in a reputable law firm and/or as in-house counsel, with demonstrated ability to operate autonomously.
- Prior experience as in-house counsel is strongly preferred.
- Prior experience in the pharmaceutical/life sciences industry is highly valued.
- Demonstrable experience in pharmaceutical regulatory law and promotional compliance.
- Fluency in Korean and English (written and oral) is mandatory.
- Strong experience with complex legal problem-solving for business clients in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrated experience serving as a trusted advisor to senior leadership or as part of a leadership team.
KEY COMPETENCIES & SKILLS
- Learning agility and strong problem-solving skills; ability to handle ambiguity and provide pragmatic legal solutions.
- Strong self-management and prioritization skills, with the ability to triage and cover a broad legal workload.
- Excellent teamwork, project management, and collaboration skills; ability to work effectively as part of a cross-functional and international team.
- Outstanding communication skills, both written and oral, with ability to convey complex legal issues clearly to non-legal audiences and senior leadership.
- Strong legislative knowledge and background across Korean pharmaceutical regulatory frameworks.
- Demonstrated leadership skills and capacity to influence senior levels without direct authority.
- Ability to work independently with sound judgment while maintaining strong connectivity with the team and supervisor.
- High degree of integrity, ethical standards, and commitment to compliance.
- Highly organized, flexible, and capable of managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.
Lilly does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.
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