Senior Legal Counsel, AI Full-time

Company Description

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 – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.

Job Description

The Senior Legal Counsel for AI Governance will lead legal oversight and strategic advisory for artificial intelligence (AI) use cases and initiatives. This position is critical for ensuring compliance with evolving regulations, managing AI-related risks, and supporting the company’s AI governance framework. The role also involves crafting innovative strategies to align AI activities with business objectives while safeguarding ethical and legal standards.

Responsibilities:

1. Ensure compliance with Corporate and Divisional Policies and procedures related to AI governance.
2. Provide legal counsel on AI use cases, including risk assessments for compliance with global AI regulations (e.g., EU AI Act, U.S. and state-level legislation).
3. Collaborate with specialist legal functions, including Contracting, Intellectual Property (IP), Privacy, and Enterprise Data, to ensure alignment on AI-related topics and maintain consistency in legal strategies across departments.
4. Lead the development and maintenance of the company’s AI governance framework, including policy creation, risk assessment tools such as ACTOR, and use case management protocols.
5. Offering strategic advice to cross-functional teams, including R&D, BTS, and Data Science, on AI integration in pharmaceutical research, operations, and compliance.
6. Monitor and interpret new AI legislation and regulatory developments to ensure proactive adaptation and advocacy where necessary.
7. Represent the company externally, including engagements with regulatory bodies, industry associations, and external counsel, to shape and advocate for AI policies.
8. Develop and deliver training on AI legal risks, governance, and compliance requirements to internal stakeholders.
9. Manage relationships with external counsel, define project objectives, and oversee performance to ensure alignment with internal standards.
10. Support cross-departmental collaboration on AI ethics and governance initiatives, ensuring alignment with the company’s values and strategic priorities.

Qualifications

• Education: J.D. from an accredited law school; active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Experience: Minimum 7+ years of legal experience, preferably in the pharmaceutical, technology, or healthcare industries. Prior experience with AI governance or digital health technologies is a strong plus.
• Skills:
  • Expertise in emerging AI regulations and compliance frameworks.
  • Prior knowledge and/or experience with AI systems or technologies.
  • Ability to synthesize complex legal and technical information into actionable insights.
  • Exceptional problem-solving and strategic thinking capabilities.
  • Effective communication skills to interact with internal stakeholders and external bodies.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional projects with diverse teams.

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
• This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs.
• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company’s sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives, serving our community and embracing diversity and inclusion. It is AbbVie’s policy to employ qualified persons of the greatest ability without discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected group status.

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