Stephen D. Sencer

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Steve Sencer is counsel in the health care and educational institutions practices at Ropes & Gray. He advises academic medical centers, research institutes and universities on legal issues associated with scientific and clinical research, and technology transfer. He has experience in supporting the translation of university-based research innovations into practical applications through, e.g., the creation of novel legal structures to advance translational research within a nonprofit corporation, negotiation of complex licenses and research agreements, life science company formation, royalty monetization, and post-licensing issue resolution.

Steve also counsels clients on internal investigations, defending against False Claims Act and other government inquiries, particularly those arising from federally-funded scientific research. His experience also includes international matters involving research collaborations, global innovation and drug development.

Steve was in-house counsel at Emory University 21 years, including 12 as general counsel. As Emory’s general counsel, he supported both the university and its Emory Healthcare subsidiary. He represented Emory in the wide range of issues facing a large research university with an academic medical center, including corporate structure and strategic transactions. He also was the chief legal advisor to The Carter Center, an Emory-affiliated NGO formed by former President Jimmy Carter, and DRIVE, Emory’s non-profit drug development company.

Having been active in the national higher education legal community, Steve is well-known and well-respected. Among other roles, he has served on the board of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, including a term as board chair.

Prior to joining the Emory OGC, Steve was in private practice and served as an Assistant District Attorney in DeKalb County, Georgia.

Experience

Emory University:
- Created the corporate structure for Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory, LLC (“DRIVE”), and its parent company Emory Innovations, Inc. (“EII”), and served as EII board chair.*
- Lead in-house lawyer on complex healthcare and life science transactions, including $540 million monetization of HIV drug royalty stream; unique affiliation between healthcare system and insurer; start-up company formations; and research collaborations.*
- Managed sensitive and high-profile internal investigations and False Claims Act cases involving allegations of, e.g., research misconduct, clinical trial billing irregularities, data misrepresentation, and conflict of interest.
- Established systems and corporate structures to mitigate risk, including Emory’s ERM Program and Threat Assessment Team.
- Partnered in the conception and creation of programs that support drug development and global health, including Advancing Health Innovation in Africa; GAP-BioSciences; and the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative.*

*Prior to joining Ropes & Gray

Credentials

Clerkships

Publications

Co-author, “In published papers, authorship attribution and disclosure of funding support have emerged as elements of government enforcement in the ‘foreign influence’ area,” Retraction Watch (March 30, 2024)
Quoted, “Why Is It So Hard for Scholars to Launch Startups?” WIRED (August 8, 2023)
Co-author, “What NIH’s New Grant Guidance Means for Awardees,” Law360 (June 16, 2023)
Profiled, “Corporate Counsel Awards Lifetime Achievement Winner Steve Sencer: ‘Take The Risk That’s Right,’” Atlanta Business Chronicle (May 4, 2023)
Profiled, “Emory’s Steve Sencer Wins the Corporate Counsel Lifetime Achievement Award,” Atlanta Business Chronicle (May 4, 2023)
Noted, “Appointments,” The Washington Post (April 24, 2023)
Profiled, “IP Hires: Ropes & Gray, Venable, Tarter Krinsky,” Law360 (April 21, 2023)
Noted, “Wake Up Call,” Bloomberg Law (April 20, 2023)
Cited, “Laterals, Moves,” Bloomberg Law (April 20, 2023)
Profiled, “Emory University’s Ex-Legal Chief Joins Ropes & Gray in DC,” Law360 (April 19, 2023)
Co-author, “North South Collaborations to Promote Health Innovation in Africa,” 67 Emory L.J. 619 (2018)
Co-author, “Structuring and Sustaining a Compliance Program at Large Research Universities, and Structuring a Compliance Program in Building an Effective Compliance Program: An Introductory Guide,” NACUA (November 2015)
Co-author, “Learning to Harmonize,” Business Officer magazine (December 2008)
Co-author, “Advice You Can Use on Advice-of-Counsel Defense,” Business Crimes Bulletin (November 1995)
Stephen D. Sencer, Book Notice, “The Age of Rights,” 90 Mich. L. Rev. 1308 (1992)
Stephen D. Sencer, Note, “Read My Lips: Examining the Legal Implications of Knowingly False Campaign Promises,” 90 Mich. L. Rev. 428 (1991)

Presentations

Speaker, “Life Sciences Licensing Strategies,” BIO Africa Academy, Durban, South Africa (September 2023)
Speaker, “The Commercialization Imperative,” American Health Lawyers Association Program, Legal Issues Affecting Academic Medical Centers and Other Teaching Institutions, Orlando, FL (January 2023)
Speaker, “IP Transfer and Licensing Agreements,” BIO Africa Academy, Durban, South Africa (August 2022)
Speaker, “Monuments, Building Names, Donors, and Crystal Balls: Managing Risks of Controversial Names and Monuments,” National Association of College and University Attorneys Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (June 2022)
Panelist, Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association Annual In-House Counsel Dinner, Atlanta, GA (May 2022)
Speaker, “Let’s Hear it From the Entrepreneurs: Managing Startups and Spinoffs,” Forum on Conflict of Interest in Academe: Professional Development Meeting, Atlanta, GA (April 2022)
Speaker, “Shared Governance in its Various Forms,” N National Association of College and University Attorneys GC Institute, (Virtual) (February 2022)
Moderator, “Science and Security, Managing Interactions with Law Enforcement and Federal Science Agencies,” Association of American Universities General Counsel Meeting, (Virtual), (November 2021)
Presenter, “Enterprise Risk Management: Strategic Risk Planning in Higher Education,” Academic Leadership Institute, (Virtual) (August 2021)
Moderator, “Higher Education in the Age of COVID-19: Medical and Scientific Perspectives,” NACUA Annual Conference, (Virtual) (June 2020)
Moderator, “Undue Foreign Influence and Academic Espionage,” NACUA Workshop, , Washington, D.C. (November 2019)
Lecturer, ““Drug Discovery and Global Health Equity,” Seminar on Corporate Accountability and Social Justice, Professor Vertinsky, Emory Law School, Atlanta, GA (October, 2019)
Lecturer, “Drug Discovery and Global Health Equity,” Patents and their Role in Global Development and Access to Health Seminar, Professor Vertinsky, Emory Law School, Atlanta, GA (October, 2018)
Speaker, “Creation and Representation of Entities Beyond the University,” National Association of College and University Attorneys Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN (June 2018)
Speaker, “Who is the Client?” American Health Lawyers Association Program, Legal Issues Affecting Academic Medical Centers and Other Teaching Institutions (January 2018)

Professional & Civic Activities

National Association of College and University Attorneys, Chair (2020-21); Board of Directors (2011-2014; 2019-2022)
Clifton Casualty Insurance Company, Board of Directors (2011-present)
Emory Innovations, Inc., Board Chair (2019-present); Board of Directors (2015-present)
American Association of Universities, General Counsel Committee (2014-2022)
United Educators, Legal Advisory Committee (2014-2018)
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Legal Services Review Panel (2018-present)
Program Committee, AHLA’s Academic Medical Center and Teaching Hospital Institute (2015-2019)
Chair, NACUA Advisory Committee on Business of Higher Education
Fellow, Woodruff Leadership Academy

Experience

Credentials

Education

Admissions

Clerkships

Publications

Presentations

Professional & Civic Activities

Memberships & Affiliations

Areas of Practice