LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are external online distributors of ALM`s extensive collection of current and archived versions of legal news publications. Clients of LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law may access and use ALM content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, New York Law Journal and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information. I started in April 2005 in the legal department of the Bayer Group. My journey then took me through different resorts – some of them outside the legal department – to my current position. As General Counsel of the Bayer Group, I have overall responsibility for the areas of law, intellectual property rights, compliance and insurance. On the one hand, this means that I am closely involved in important legal issues for Bayer in order to be able to provide optimal advice to the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board. On the other hand – and this is very important – it is a very pleasant task for me to ensure the continuous development of my area of responsibility. All of this is in line with our slogan “Towards a Global In-House Law Firm”. It is important for us to familiarize students and trainees with Bayer as a potential employer. During their training, students mainly learn about conventional fields and are often not as familiar with the business law consulting profession. As a globally active company, Bayer offers lawyers challenging tasks at a high level. That`s why we introduce Bayer at various job fairs and offer apprenticeships to interns and interns. This is a good opportunity for interns to get to know Bayer, our legal department and the way we work and see if they can imagine working full-time for us.
And we also get to know them as people and are happy when we can attract talented young employees. Some of our colleagues were trained in our company and received full-time positions from us early in their careers. In fact, I can name two very specific circumstances here. Looking back, the defining moment for me was when I was first appointed team principal. It was a very rewarding experience to take responsibility for other employees. Because in addition to getting to know a very important new dimension of management through personnel management, you also learn a lot about yourself. Equally formative for me was probably the period of about three years during which I was transferred from the legal department to the staff of the board of directors to directly support the board of directors and its president. During this time, my job was to very quickly develop expertise in areas outside of my legal comfort zone, such as communication, business administration and strategy. Having recently taken on the role of Head of Legal Mergers and Acquisitions in the legal department of Bayer AG (Bayer), Deny-Jean Silny is no stranger to the complex transactions of the German pharmaceutical and life sciences giant. He joined Bayer`s legal department in July 2016 and helped Bayer manage its large and small businesses. Last year, we had the privilege of working with him and his predecessor, Christian Bank, on the acquisition of U.S.-based Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) and U.S.-based Vividion Therapeutics, Inc.
(Vividion) with up to $4 billion and the acquisition of up to $2 billion of U.S.-based Vividion Therapeutics, Inc. (Vividion). After a tumultuous year, we asked Silny to reflect on his career and transition to a new role, the key insights from the company`s recent transactions, and the key trends he sees in pharmaceutical M&A. We have separate legal departments in 33 countries and work internationally on global projects. Bayer offers various opportunities to gain experience abroad. These offers range from classic business trips to short-term assignments that last from three months to a year. Longer missions abroad are also possible. Current examples are members of our in-house German legal team who have been working in the UNITED States, China and Singapore for about two years or more. License our cutting-edge legal content to develop your thought leadership and build your brand. Professional field: Compliance, Pharma, Law, Medical Device, Legal, Science, Bilingual, Health Bayer`s lawyers are mainly employed in the legal department. In addition to general business law, they have the opportunity to work at Bayer in areas such as labour and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, data protection, compliance and IT law. Lawyers also work in other specialized departments such as human resources, tax and finance.
This year, Bayer was named Best Employer by Focus Magazine and also ranked 30th in the Top 100 of Azure. In addition, Bayer is one of five companies that have landed in the top 50 employers for lawyers. We attribute our good performance here to our above-average employee satisfaction rates. These in turn result from our interesting areas of work, good opportunities for development and continuing education, attractive remuneration and secure jobs. We pride ourselves on our pleasant work atmosphere, work-life balance, and excellent employer offerings such as stock option programs, child care offers, and more. After an eventful year, we asked Silny to reflect on his career and transition to a new role, the key insights from the company`s recent transactions, and the key trends he sees in pharmaceutical M&A. Dr. Gabriel Harnier has been with Bayer for 11 years.
Today, he is responsible for law, patents and compliance. On our Bayer Careers blog, he reports on entry and development opportunities for lawyers. It also gives a personal insight into his own career. How would you describe your current field of activity? My personal experience with Bayer as an employer has been very positive. In my opinion, what sets Bayer apart as an employer is that the company trusts its employees and encourages them to perform tasks with personal responsibility. I also see Bayer as an employer that never loses sight of the well-being of its employees and is committed to a fair relationship with them. Last but not least, Bayer is characterized by the fact that the company systematically strives to support employees who have the necessary interest and the appropriate talents to develop in new areas of activity.