Senior Attorney - Commercial & IP

Freudenberg•Plymouth, MI

About The Position

We are seeking a Senior Attorney with a strong focus on commercial transactions and intellectual property to join our team. This role involves drafting, negotiating, and advising on a wide range of IP-related agreements, supporting corporate transactions, assessing IP risks, managing outside counsel, and collaborating with various internal teams. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in IP law, commercial transactions, and M&A support, with a proven ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
Active admission to practice law before at least one U.S. state bar.
5+ years of experience in commercial transactions with a strong intellectual property focus.
Substantial experience drafting and negotiating licensing, collaboration, and development agreements.
Demonstrated experience managing outside counsel and overseeing legal budgets.
Capacity to review, legally analyze and revise legal documents and contracts with a good understanding of commercial and strategic aspects and solid drafting skills.
Experience working with cross-functional and international teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions or other strategic transactions is preferred
Prior in-house experience in an IP- or technology-driven organization.
Familiarity with patent and trademark portfolios and their commercial exploitation.

Responsibilities

Draft, negotiate, and advise on a wide range of IP-related standard documents, contract management templates, guidelines and know-how, commercial agreements, including joint development agreements, collaboration agreements, and inbound and outbound licensing agreements.
Ensure agreements appropriately protect the Company's intellectual property assets, confidential information, and brand elements.
Advise on ownership, use rights, improvements, sublicensing rights, commercialization provisions, and termination clauses.
Provide intellectual property legal support for corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic investments.
Conduct and advise on IP due diligence, including assessment of patent, trademark, and licensing portfolios.
Advise on intellectual property representations, warranties, covenants, indemnities, and allocation of transactional risk.
Support post-closing integration planning relating to intellectual property assets, agreements, and ongoing contractual obligations.
Apply deep knowledge of patent and trademark systems to evaluate IP-sensitive commercial transactions and business relationships.
Identify, assess, and mitigate intellectual property risks associated with commercial agreements and strategic initiatives.
Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice aligned with the Company's commercial strategy.
Engage, manage, and oversee outside counsel supporting IP-related transactional and M&A matters.
Oversee, monitor, and manage external legal spend related to IP transactions and commercial support.
Supporting and handling IP litigation and assisting in the development of litigation strategies.
Collaborate closely with Legal and IP Team colleagues, R&D, commercial, procurement, and corporate development teams.
Serve as a trusted legal advisor to internal stakeholders on IP-related transactional matters.
Support business growth while maintaining appropriate legal and intellectual property risk controls.