Make a meaningful difference to patients around the world. Our Legal team works to protect our patients, team members, and innovations with the utmost diligence and care. You’ll have the opportunity to work with a dedicated team and build lasting partnerships with stakeholders across our global organization. Your legal knowledge and contributions will help us ensure that we are supporting the needs and interests of the patients we serve
Innovation starts from the heart. Edwards Lifesciences is the leading global structural heart innovation company, driven by a passion to improve patient lives. With millions of patients served in over 100 countries, each team makes a meaningful contribution by improving patient outcomes and discovering lasting solutions for unmet patient needs. Our Legal Associate role is a unique career opportunity that could be your next step towards an exciting future.
The Legal Associate provides legal support to the company, including legal research, analysis, drafting, and preliminary recommendations on routine to moderately complex legal matters under attorney supervision. This role is intended for an individual who has earned a law degree but is not yet admitted to practice law, and supports attorneys and business stakeholders by applying legal training to business initiatives in alignment with company policies and applicable law.
Work Schedule: Given the collaborative nature of this work, this role is onsite full time in Irvine, California
How you’ll make an impact
- Provide day-to-day legal support on routine to moderately complex legal matters, including issue spotting, legal research, analysis, and preliminary recommendations for attorney review; partner with attorneys and business stakeholders to support implementation of business initiatives in alignment with company policies and applicable law.
- Conduct legal research and analysis using legal authorities, regulations, contracts, and internal policies; prepare legal memoranda, issue summaries, and practical recommendations for attorney review; partner with attorneys and outside counsel to resolve issues, support projects, and contribute to improvements in legal processes, templates, and training materials.
- Prepare and draft routine to moderately complex legal documents, memoranda, contract provisions, correspondence, and related materials for attorney review and approval; does not provide independent legal advice, represent the company, or practice law unless and until admitted to the applicable bar.
What you'll need (Required):
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school; bar admission not required at time of hire
What else we look for (Preferred):
- Experience with systems and tools as it relates to legal
- Advanced computer skills using MS Office Suite, with intermediate skills in Word, Excel and PowerPoint and legal software
- Good written and verbal communications skills
- Good problem-solving skills
- Working knowledge of legal principles, legal research methods, legal writing, issue spotting, and developing expertise in assigned legal practice areas Ability to complete tasks in resourceful and effective ways
- Moderate understanding of related legal processes, policies, procedures, and attorney-supervised legal workflows
- Ability to manage confidential information with discretion
- Ability to interact professionally with all organizational levels
- Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment Extensive knowledge and understanding of Edwards policies, procedures, and administrative requirements a plus.
- Ability to interact professionally with all organizational levels -- contacts are across the organization and at all organizational levels – and interaction includes external contacts that may be at high levels
Aligning our overall business objectives with performance, we offer competitive salaries, performance-based incentives, and a wide variety of benefits programs to address the diverse individual needs of our employees and their families.
For California, the base pay range for this position is $74,000 - $104,000 (highly experienced).
The pay for the successful candidate will depend on various factors (e.g., qualifications, education, prior experience). Applications will be accepted while this position is posted on our Careers website.
Edwards is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer including protected Veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Skills Required
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school
- Bar admission is not required at the time of hire
- Experience with systems and tools related to legal work
- Advanced computer skills using Microsoft Office Suite, including intermediate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint skills, plus legal software
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Working knowledge of legal principles, legal research methods, legal writing, issue spotting, and assigned legal practice areas
- Understanding of legal processes, policies, procedures, and attorney-supervised legal workflows
- Ability to manage confidential information with discretion
- Ability to interact professionally with all organizational levels and external contacts
- Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
Edwards Lifesciences Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Edwards Lifesciences and has not been reviewed or approved by Edwards Lifesciences.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is considered strong, with multiple plan choices, HSA options, and fertility support, and the company highlights holistic well‑being programs.
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Retirement Support — A company 401(k) match and well‑regarded retirement offerings add clear long‑term value to total compensation.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a discount and look‑back feature makes equity ownership accessible and enhances the total rewards package.
Edwards Lifesciences Insights
What We Do
Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW), is the global leader in patient-focused medical innovations for structural heart disease, as well as critical care and surgical monitoring. We thrive on discovery and expanding the boundaries of medical technology, serving patients in 100+ countries, with the help of our employees in areas including Clinical Affairs, Quality Engineering, Research & Development, Regulatory Affairs, Sales & Marketing, corporate functions and more. Our roots date back to 1958 when Miles Lowell Edwards, a retired engineer with a background in hydraulics and fuel pump operations, set out to build the first artificial heart. Edwards believed the heart could be mechanized and was encouraged by Dr. Albert Starr to focus on developing an artificial heart valve. After just two years, the first Starr-Edwards mitral valve was developed and successfully placed in a patient. This innovation spawned Edwards Laboratories. Miles’ fascination with healing the heart and helping patients with heart disease stemmed from his own experience with rheumatic fever as a teenager and continues to fuel our patient-first culture today. Today, we are as passionate about providing innovative solutions for people fighting cardiovascular disease as we have ever been. It's our Credo. It takes integrity, collaboration, innovation, and focus. We are leaders in the design and manufacture of tissue replacement heart valves and repair products as well as advanced hemodynamic monitoring. We partner with physicians to innovate products designed to help patients live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. Our work is both rewarding and a privilege. The importance of what we do defines our approach. We work together to create an environment where ideas can flourish and we provide our people with the resources, expertise and support to bring those ideas to life. For our legal terms and trademarks, please visit: https://www.edwards.com/legal/legal-terms
