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Adcendo is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first- and best-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancers with high unmet medical need. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with operations in Boston, Massachusetts, the company is entering a defining growth phase: scaling a portfolio of three clinical-stage ADC programs, expanding US presence, and building corporate governance and compliance infrastructure.
You will be Adcendo's first dedicated in-house General Counsel, reporting directly to the CEO and sitting on the executive leadership team. You will work closely with the Board and CFO to build the legal function from the ground up across a broad remit.
Key responsibilities include:
**Corporate Finance & Securities:** Lead legal workstreams for corporate financing and capital strategy; manage external counsel and coordinate with auditors. Own the disclosure record—drafting and internal sign-off on risk factors, business, legal proceedings, related-party transactions, and governance disclosures. Build robust corporate infrastructure including disclosure controls, insider trading policies, and corporate equity administration.
**Governance & Corporate Secretary:** Serve as Corporate Secretary managing board and committee calendars, agendas, materials, resolutions, and minutes. Build governance architecture including constitutional documents, committee charters, code of conduct, related-party transaction and clawback policies, and corporate governance guidelines. Support board composition, independence determinations, committee formation, and director onboarding. Manage the corporate equity program.
**Strategic Transactions & Business Development:** Lead legal workstreams on licensing, collaboration, and asset transactions. Negotiate clinical collaboration and supply agreements with pharmaceutical partners. Run diligence, structuring, and documentation on in-licensing, out-licensing, divestitures, and M&A.
**Clinical, Regulatory, IP & Contracting:** Oversee contracting function across CROs, CDMOs, clinical sites, investigators, and vendors—developing templates, playbooks, approval thresholds, intake processes, and contract management tooling. Oversee intellectual property strategy with external patent counsel and R&D: portfolio management across three clinical programs and the ADC platform, freedom-to-operate analysis, and in-licensed technology obligations.
**Compliance, Privacy, Employment & Risk:** Build the corporate compliance program—policies, training, monitoring, and board-level reporting—anticipating the transition from research-stage to commercial-stage obligations. Partner with QA on data privacy across GDPR and Danish law on one side, HIPAA and US state privacy law on the other, including clinical data transfers between Danish and US entities. Partner with People/HR on Danish and US employment law, executive compensation, and equity matters. Own litigation, disputes, insurance (including D&O), and enterprise legal risk reporting to the Board.
**Building the Function:** Set in-house versus outside-counsel strategy, hold the legal budget, and consolidate the external panel across Denmark, the US, and the EU.
The role is based in Boston on a hybrid schedule. Candidates on the US East Coast will be considered. Periodic travel to Copenhagen is required.
**Requirements:**
- J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing of at least one US state bar
- 12+ years of relevant legal experience combining leading law firm work with meaningful in-house time; 15+ years preferred
- Experience as General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer, Deputy General Counsel, or head of a legal function at a life sciences company
- Biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry experience preferred
- Substantive cross-border experience: comfort operating across US and European legal systems, instructing non-US counsel, and working across time zones and legal cultures
- Track record of building a legal function
**Preferred:**
- Experience taking a venture-backed company through late-stage growth and scaling corporate governance
- Scandinavian corporate law exposure or prior experience managing external Scandinavian counsel
**Ideal candidate profile:** You make decisions under time pressure and imperfect information. You have credibility with boards, audit committees, and sophisticated investors. You are financially literate enough to work on complex corporate and financial documents. You have cross-cultural experience, are hands-on, and maintain absolute discretion.
