Paralegal

Summit Therapeutics•Palo Alto, CA

11d•$139,000 - $163,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Summit Therapeutics Inc. is seeking an experienced, technology-minded Legal Operations Paralegal to help improve the effectiveness of its legal department. Reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer, this role leads legal operations efforts, with a primary focus on administering, optimizing, and maintaining the company’s Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system. The position combines hands-on paralegal work with operational leadership, serving as the internal CLM expert and supporting colleagues throughout the business. The paralegal also supports contracting, litigation, due diligence, securities, intellectual property prosecution and litigation, compliance, and other legal matters. The role is based at Summit’s Palo Alto office and is onsite Monday through Thursday, with the option to work remotely on Friday. Additional remote days may be considered. Compensation is listed at $139,000–$163,000 USD; actual compensation depends on factors such as skills, experience, certifications, and work location. The total compensation package may also include bonus, stock, benefits, or other applicable variable compensation.

Requirements

At least 6 years of paralegal experience, preferably in an in-house legal department.
Demonstrated experience with CLM systems such as Agiloft, Ironclad, Icertis, DocuSign CLM, or Conga, or equivalent platforms.
Strong technology aptitude and comfort learning and using legal technology tools.
Deep understanding of contract law, contract language, and in-house legal processes.
Experience supporting litigation and due diligence matters.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, outside counsel, and vendors.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Understanding of how to maintain and protect confidential information.

Nice To Haves

Paralegal certificate or relevant degree.
Experience in life sciences, biotechnology, or pharmaceuticals, including familiarity with agreements such as clinical trial agreements, CDAs, CRO/vendor agreements, and licensing agreements.
Extensive knowledge of contracts across a variety of agreement types.
Hands-on experience implementing or migrating a CLM system.
Familiarity with e-discovery platforms, e-signature tools, and legal matter management or spend management software.
Experience building dashboards, reports, or metrics to measure legal operations performance.
Knowledge of legal operations frameworks and best practices.

Responsibilities

Administer, optimize, and maintain the company’s CLM system and lead efforts to improve legal operations.
Configure and refine CLM workflows, templates, clause libraries, approval routing, and reporting.
Identify opportunities to streamline legal processes, reduce turnaround times, and improve contract data quality and visibility.
Maintain accurate contract records, metadata, and repositories, including tracking obligations, renewals, and key dates.
Serve as the internal CLM subject matter expert across departments; onboard users, deliver live and recorded training, answer questions, troubleshoot issues, and create user guides, FAQs, and best-practice resources.
Coordinate with the CLM vendor on system updates, enhancements, and issue resolution.
Support due diligence for corporate transactions, financings, partnerships, and other strategic initiatives; organize data rooms, track requests, and summarize contract terms and findings.
Assist with litigation discovery, document collection, review, and production, and coordinate case logistics, deadlines, and document management with outside counsel.
Work with the Chief Legal Officer, in-house patent and transactional attorneys, and outside counsel to resolve legal issues and meet operational needs.
Partner with Research & Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Business Development, Procurement, Finance, and third-party vendors; build strong relationships with business stakeholders.
Review, draft, and manage agreements such as NDAs, statements of work, and amendments under attorney supervision.
Manage contracts through intake, negotiation support, execution, storage, and renewal; escalate non-standard terms and risk issues to attorneys.