Legal Counsel

  • SickKids
  • Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Apr 14, 2023
Full time Lawyer (In House Counsel)

Job Description

About SickKids


 

Dedicated exclusively to children and their families, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is one of the largest and most respected paediatric healthcare centres in the world. As innovators in child health, we lead and partner to improve the health of children through the integration of healthcare, leading-edge research and education. Our reputation would not have been built – nor could it be maintained – without the skills, knowledge and experience of the extraordinary people who come to work here every day. SickKids is committed to ongoing learning and development, and features a caring and supportive work environment that combines exceptionally high standards of practice.

When you join SickKids, you become part of our community. We share a commitment and determination to fulfill our vision of Healthier Children. A Better World.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to work alongside the world’s best in paediatric healthcare.

Position Description


 

The SickKids Legal Services team is looking to add a collaborative and proactive Legal Counsel with experience in Intellectual Property (IP) law and all aspects of technology transfer, including licensing. Reporting to the Legal Department and having accountability to the Industry Partnerships & Commercialization (IP&C) Team, this role will provide legal support on a variety of medical/scientific research-related matters, with an emphasis on matters involving IP development and commercialization.

Here's What You’ll Get To Do:

  • Work closely with IP&C personnel in supporting a variety of IP commercialization matters, including the creation and support of start-up companies.
  • Review/draft/negotiate IP-based contracts at an industry- and investor-friendly pace, including IP license agreements, industry sponsored research agreements, services agreements.
  • Review/draft/negotiate/advise on other research contracts for a portfolio of medical/scientific researcher clients, including clinical trial agreements (CTAs), Registry/Bio-Bank Agreements, Consortium Agreements, material transfer agreements (MTAs).
  • Identify, address and manage legal needs in support of the Hospital’s business and strategic objectives through effective fact-finding, research and the provision of high-quality legal advice and in a manner that reflects the organization’s risk tolerance.
  • Support implementation of strategic and operational initiatives.
  • Monitor changes to law relevant to the Hospital, and communicate developments/implications to management and staff, as appropriate.
  • Identify potential areas of legal risk/opportunity and make recommendations on risk tolerance and mechanisms to manage risk/opportunity.
  • Develop strong professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate ongoing communication throughout the organization, to anticipate and proactively manage legal needs and risks, and to keep current on best practices and emerging trends in legal practice within relevant sectors.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

  • You must possess a Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctorate and be a lawyer in good standing with the LSO.
  • The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five years’ post-call experience in private practice, in-house, in the life sciences industry, tech transfer office or a combination thereof, with a focus on life sciences licensing and other foundational IP arrangements.
  • Experience working within a hospital or other healthcare sector organization is an asset.
  • Strong preference will be given to lawyers who have expertise working with medical/scientific-related contracts, privacy law, IT law and/or artificial intelligence initiatives.
  • We are seeking service-oriented lawyer with strong conceptual thinking and decision-making skills, who can manage a high volume of competing priorities.
  • You are a team player with excellent diplomacy and interpersonal skills.

What’s Exciting About This Role:

  • SickKids is a world-renowned pediatric, teaching and research hospital with an annual Research Institute R&D budget of $260M
  • Join a growing team that is championing the commercialization of one of the richest academic health research portfolios in the country
  • Help us to build on our research and commercial successes in cystic fibrosis, rare diseases and genetically inherited diseases
  • Work with some amazing Principal Investigators, who are working on cutting edge projects, e.g. artificial intelligence in medicine, autism, gene therapies, medical devices for infants, and more

Employment Type: Full Time

Our Commitment to Diversity


 

The children and families we care for are from a variety of communities, and so are our employees. We welcome and encourage everyone to join our organization and be part of our team.

When requested, SickKids will provide access and inclusion supports to eligible candidates to support their full engagement during the interview and assessment process. Information received related to access or inclusion will be addressed confidentially.

Thank you for your interest in joining SickKids. Only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. In accordance with our Hospital policy, employment at SickKids is conditional upon the Hospital’s receipt of all necessary documentation.

FOR EXTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY: As a health care institution, our highest priority is the safety of patients, families and staff. As a result, we are adopting all prevention measures to ensure the safety of our patients, families and our staff. Therefore, any offer of employment is conditional upon you submitting proof that you have been fully vaccinated with a Health Canada or World Health Organization (WHO) approved COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible and no later than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the effective start date, in addition to satisfying any other condition(s) that may be set out in an offer. If a candidate fails to satisfy this condition (or any other condition(s) set out in an offer), any offer of employment shall be immediately rescinded.

How to Apply

Tip: Combine your cover letter and resume into ONE document of 20 pages or less as you cannot upload multiple documents as part of your application.

If you are still experiencing technical difficulties please email ask.hr@sickkids.ca to send us a short description of the issues you are experiencing. Please note that we will not accept resumes sent to this inbox but we are happy to respond to requests for technical assistance.