Assistant General Counsel

About Rice
Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities. 

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community and Excellence.

Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a cover letter and a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application. We suggest the documents be in a PDF format to avoid formatting issues.

Position Summary

Nobel Prizes. MacArthur “Genius Grants.” Poets Laureate. Groundbreaking cancer research. A world-class opera hall. An unmatched culture of care. The habits and practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The celebration of our multicultural and multinational community in the heart of the nation’s most diverse city.

In the Office of General Counsel, we serve a preeminent research university whose excellence is established and whose ambitions, under President Reginald DesRoches, are courageous, transformational, and global. For its students, for learning and discovery, and for the world, Rice University’s moment has arrived.

To help us rise to the moment, we seek an attorney with a strong background in, and principal focus on, intellectual property (including patents, trademark, and copyrights) and related experience in sponsored research and licensing agreements, technology transfer, and/or research-related matters, including research compliance. 

But no single day is typical for a top-tier research university, so our commitment is to provide or, when necessary, develop the substantive expertise our clients need. Therefore, the ideal candidate will also have the experience and versatility to solve problems in other areas of practice, including contracts, general business law, nonprofit law, and corporate law. As a team, we value excellent attention to detail, versatility, discretion, and curiosity. Our collective aim is to represent Rice with the highest standards of civility, courtesy, and creativity.

The ideal candidate has at least 4 years’ experience with a strong substantive background in intellectual property, including patents, trademark and copyright.

Workplace Requirements

This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. Per Rice Policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

This is a full-time, benefits position, and the hiring range is $175,000 - $200,000 annually; pay will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. *Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements

• J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school
• At least 2 years experience as a practicing attorney; actively and substantially engaged in the practice of law as the applicant’s principal occupation for at least 2 of the 4 years immediately preceding the application.
• Either (a) an active license to practice law in Texas or (b) an active license to practice law in another US jurisdiction and the ability to become licensed in Texas within one year of hire.
• A strong substantive background in, and principal focus on, intellectual property (including patents, trademark and copyright).
• Experience with intellectual property transactions.
• Related experience in sponsored research and licensing agreements, technology transfer, and/or research-related matters, including research regulatory compliance.
• Experience negotiating complicated agreements, particularly intellectual property agreements.

Skills

• Ability to manage time effectively and adapt to a high-volume workload, varying client priorities, and deadlines.
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with diverse parties.
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with various stakeholders. 
• Willingness to learn new areas of the law.
• Proficiency with typical business technology and software, including video conferencing applications.
• Collegiality, a willingness to support colleagues, and a commitment to the diverse, multicultural mission of higher education and private university research institutions.
• Commitment to expeditious, high-quality service to our clients and the dedication to work the hours it takes to meet those expectations.
• Technology transfer and licensing, including knowledge of faculty start-ups and sophisticated transactions with licensees of University intellectual property
• Experience with research grants and research compliance, including export controls, human subjects research, animal research, biosafety, and conflicts of interest
• Policy and procedure drafting and review
• Experience in providing training to sophisticated audiences on complex legal matters  
• Legal advising on complex business transactions

Preferences

• Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, physical sciences, or engineering, or in biomedical or pharmaceutical disciplines. 
• 8 or more years’ experience as a practicing attorney, with a principal focus on intellectual property (including patents, trademark and copyright), including preparation/prosecution of patent applications and drafting/negotiating intellectual property agreements/licenses.
• Experience working as a counsel to universities, particularly in matters involving intellectual property and transactions
• Registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Experience providing training to sophisticated audiences on complex legal matters.
• Experience drafting, editing, and negotiating SRAs, MTAs, NDAs, grants, licenses, and MOUs
• Experience drafting and prosecuting patents before the USPTO, registering trademarks with the USPTO, and/or registering copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. 
• Experience with intellectual property litigation.
• Familiarity with FAR, DFAR, DEAR and flow-downs therefrom.
• Familiarity with OFAC, ITSR, EAR, ITAR, export controls and foreign malign influence.
• Familiarity with biosafety, human subjects, lab animal welfare, conflicts of interest in research (including conflict of interest regarding start-ups), research ethics, and research misconduct

Essential Functions

• Reporting to the Vice President and General Counsel, provide legal advice and representation to the Executive Vice President of Research, the Office of Technology Transfer, the Office of Sponsored Projects, the Research Integrity Office, the Research Security Office, the Vice President for Innovation and others in the Rice community.
• Provide legal advice and representation on intellectual property matters, especially patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and/or manage outside counsel in those areas.
• Represent Rice in patent and technology transfer-related disputes, and/or manage outside counsel in those disputes and in litigation.
• Provide legal advice regarding the creation and protection of and other issues relating to intellectual property arising from the university’s research efforts, acquisitions, and/or licensing activities.
• As needed, conduct or review freedom to operate studies, analyses of third-party patent positions and competitive patent intelligence.
• Review and understand Rice’s patent portfolio; assess possible litigation risks.
• Participate in trademark procurement activities and management of Rice’s trademark portfolio.
• Manage the efforts of outside counsel, as needed.
• Serve on university task forces and committees, and work visibly and closely with representatives from diverse university offices, the Houston community, and other important communities with which Rice engages.
• Participate in regular meetings, both within the Office of General Counsel and with other stakeholders at Rice.
• Work independently on routine legal matters, and discern issues of institutional importance that require additional communication with legal team members, the Vice President and General Counsel, and other university officials.
• Devise and provide practical, risk-tolerant solutions for problems, balancing legal considerations with Rice’s strategic priorities.
• Promote Rice’s Culture of Care. 
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions

• This position requires extended working hours, including nights and weekends, as our clients’ needs require. Out-of-town travel is occasional and infrequent (rarely over 5%).

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits 

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity at all levels and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.