Senior Counsel, Corporate & Intellectual Property – San Francisco Bay Area (980-SLS)

Our client, a large, multi-specialty physician-led medical group, has exclusively retained Solutus Legal Search to assist the company in its search for a Senior Counsel, Corporate & Intellectual Property. Reporting to our client’s Chief Legal Officer, the Senior Counsel will serve as a key legal advisor, providing strategic and transactional legal support across corporate matters and intellectual property (IP) initiatives. This role will play a central part in advising on the formation and operation of an affiliated startup subsidiary focused on healthcare innovation, digital health, and emerging technologies.

The ideal candidate combines strong corporate governance and transactional experience with IP fluency and a practical, business-oriented approach to supporting clinical and operational leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Corporate - Governance & Transactional

• Provide day-to-day legal support on a broad range of corporate matters, including governance, structuring, and internal transactions
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex agreements, including:
  • Joint ventures and strategic partnerships
  • Vendor and services agreements
  • Technology and licensing agreements
  • Support entity formation, restructuring, and subsidiary governance
  • Advise senior leadership on legal risks associated with corporate structure, new business initiatives and strategic investments
  • Partner with finance, compliance, and operational teams to support integrated decision-making

  Intellectual Property

  • Advise on identification, protection, and commercialization of IP assets, including trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and patent strategy (in coordination with outside counsel as needed)
  • Structure and negotiate IP licensing, collaboration agreements, and commercialization arrangements
  • Develop and implement IP policies and best practices across the organization
  • Support technology transfer and innovation initiatives arising from clinical, research, and operational activities
  • Manage IP portfolio oversight and work with external IP counsel

  Healthcare Innovation

  • Serve as primary legal advisor to an evolving startup subsidiary focused on healthcare innovation (e.g., digital health, care delivery models, AI tools, or population health solutions)
  • Provide legal guidance on:
    • Entity formation and capitalization strategies
    • Governance structure and board matters
    • Strategic partnerships and investor relationships
    • Regulatory considerations impacting emerging healthcare technologies
    • Help build scalable legal frameworks that balance innovation with compliance in a highly regulated healthcare environment

    Regulatory & Risk Advisory

    • Issue-spot and advise on healthcare regulatory frameworks relevant to innovation in collaboration with subject matter experts
    • Provide practical guidance that enables business teams to move forward thoughtfully within regulatory constraints
    • Coordinate with compliance, privacy, and risk management functions

    Cross-Functional Leadership

    • Act as a trusted advisor to physician leaders, executives, and business stakeholders
    • Lead or support cross-functional initiatives involving legal, clinical, and operational teams
    • Manage and oversee outside counsel efficiently
    • Mentor junior attorneys or legal staff as appropriate

Qualifications

Required

• Law degree
• Registered In House Counsel (California) within 12 months of hire OR State Bar License (California) within 12 months of hire
• Minimum of 10 years of experience as a practicing attorney analyzing and applying healthcare or employment, contract, and/or corporate laws, regulations, and guidelines.

Preferred

• Significant experience in corporate governance and transactions
• Demonstrated experience with IP matters (transactional IP and/or IP strategy)
• Experience supporting startups, venture-backed companies, or innovation initiatives
• Familiarity with digital health, AI, data governance, or technology commercialization
• Strong drafting, negotiation, and problem-solving skills and ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Comfort working with physician leadership and governance bodies