Client Centricity & the In-House Lawyer

Kari Loeser, Senior Counsel, Jazz Pharmaceuticals

The practice of law has evolved, particularly given the advent of significant technological advances, enhancements, and the evolving nature of the business world. Twenty years ago, first year law students’ core curriculum involved legal writing and legal research, which was, in essence, how to use the law library to find cases, statutes, and law review articles in their corresponding shelved book and then “Sheperdize” the legal authorities to confirm case precedent and validity. Twenty to thirty years ago, major corporations and companies relied on outside counsel and law firms for their legal advice -- and did not have in-house attorneys beyond the General Counsel role. The change was an increasing awareness and recognition of the intrinsic value of in-house lawyers: here are legal experts that become embedded within the many facets and dimensions of the business, and, who can serve as a gatekeeper for the myriad of legal, ethical, and financial rules and obligations of the company. In-house lawyers serve an important role in advising and leading their client, “the company”. For instance, when an in-house attorney is involved in litigation or conducting an internal investigation, it is both ethically and professionally necessary to give the Upjohn warning -- clearly identifying the communications between the company counsel and employees as privileged – but that privilege belongs to the company as client, not the individual employees.

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USA Management Pharmaceutical January 2018 Vol.11, No. 42, Winter 2018

Kari Loeser

Kari Loeser, Esq. is senior corporate counsel and senior director in the Legal & Compliance department at Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc. In this role, she oversees and conducts all US and global internal investigations and has advised client groups on a variety of legal and compliance matters pertaining to sales, marketing, and promotional matters for the Oncology portfolio; medical affairs including clinical/research, publications, and health economic outcomes research; and managed care and reimbursement activities. She also managed a team responsible for federal/state aggregate spend reporting (transparency) and compliance field monitoring. Prior to Jazz, Kari worked in medical affairs and healthcare compliance at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. She has published various articles and a book chapter on E-Health and Ethics, and she has presented at various conferences, including the AHLA-HCCA Fraud and Abuse Conference. She is currently authoring a book chapter in CANCER POLICY: PHARMACEUTICAL SAFETY entitled “Anatomy of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS)” by Springer Publishing (Germany) with a proposed publication and release date in 2017. She is a licensed attorney, and is certified in Healthcare Compliance. She received her JD from DePaul University College of Law, and her BA with Honors from the University of Iowa.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc is an international biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients’ lives by identifying, developing and commercializing meaningful products that address unmet medical needs. Our focus is on sleep, hematology/oncology and other areas in which our unique approach may be able to address significant treatment gaps.

USA Management Pharmaceutical January 2018 Vol.11, No. 42, Winter 2018