MELANIE LUDL POAGE

Phone: 512-***-**** Email: adwilm@r.postjobfree.com

My result-oriented approach and highly refined interpersonal skills, allow me to make a powerful impact in industries including healthcare, life sciences, oil and gas, manufacturing, consumer electronics and telecommunications. Over twenty years of diverse corporate legal experience provides me insight to identify business risks and process deficiencies and then develop and implement solutions to assist businesses in operating more smoothly with higher profitability. Through my background in legal affairs, contracts administration, compliance, human resources, and procurement, I have a proven ability to interface with employees and customers of diverse skill sets and backgrounds to support business growth.

Sr. Legal Operations Manager – Molecular Designs, LLC (March 2022 to Present)

Assisted General Counsel with commercial, employment and corporate legal matters.

Assisted CFO with governance and taxation matters.

Managed the continuous development of the contracts function and its processes, including:

Reviewing, drafting and negotiating customer and vendor agreements, contract addenda, and managing contracts for products and services (MSA, SOWs, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Partner Agreements)

Advising management of contractual rights and obligations and providing clarification of contract terms and conditions.

Proposing alternative language for risk mitigation, risk flow, and revenue recognition and provided effective guidance of contract issues to management.

Ensuring accuracy and compliance by recommending appropriate modifications, engaging and collaborating with internal stakeholders in the sales, professional services, legal and other internal organizations.

Establishing initiatives for contracts function, including contracting tools & processes, legal language library, reference materials, and contracts compliance procedures.

Acting as a liaison between internal and external customers to efficiently drive the contract review and approval process to conclusion.

Sr. Contracts Specialist - Abbott Laboratories (formerly St. Jude Medical, Inc.) (January 2015 to March 2022)

Supported the Commercial Legal team by a) actively partnering with various internal requesters to help draft, negotiate and manage a wide variety of commercial agreements, b) facilitating the business objectives of Abbott by providing practical, timely, and effective legal support, while minimizing potential legal risks, and c) optimizing processes and systems for legal request intake and management.

Worked closely with cross-functional teams (Legal, Compliance, Finance, Education, Supply Chain, Research & Development, Regulatory, Quality, Clinical, Marketing, Sales, and Information Technology Departments) to manage high volumes of requests, identify process improvements, and contribute to an efficient and effective commercial contracting process.

Subject Matter expert for consulting contracts with US healthcare professionals who train on the safe and effective use of cardiac and neuromodulation products, who conduct product development and who participate in clinical trials. Advise Education teams on training program agreements with hospitals and educational institutions. Point of contact for internal auditors regarding physician consultant services including compliance and payment issues.

Applied broad understanding of the AdvaMed Code, Anti-Kickback Law, Sunshine Law and other legal requirements associated with contracts.

Trained company personnel on electronic contract systems administration, contract drafting, and negotiation.

Previously managed robust electronic contract tracking system housing 100,000 records ensuring process accuracy. Later, assisted with large data migration into Abbott’s Apptus system. With Legal Operations and IT departments, troubleshot technical issues and implemented updates to tracking system.

For project achievements and performance, received St. Jude Medical’s Platinum Medal of Distinction Award in the second half of 2015, Abbott’s Excellence Gold Award in 2019 and Abbott’s Excellence Gold and Silver Awards in 2021.

Freelance Paralegal - Ludl Consulting (July 2014 to January 2015)

Consult on various engagements providing paralegal services, project management and contracts administration.

Clients include an IT management software provider and independent attorneys.

Corporate Paralegal - Motion Computing, Inc. (acquired by Xplore Technologies, now Zebra) (March 2011 to July 2014)

Managed company’s legal affairs, supervised all engagements with outside legal counsel, and reported daily to CFO.

Oversaw all contracts administration, provided contract review and negotiated terms with outside parties.

Managed intellectual property including defense, licensing and administration of the patent portfolio.

Monitored all risk management and insurance matters.

Assisted Human Resources with immigration and employment matters.

Assisted Procurement and Service departments with warranty and product issues.

Administered stock option plan and acted as point of contact for stockholders.

Rewarded twice for contributions as employee of the month.

Procurement Specialist at Dell, Inc. - SDI International Corporation (July 2010 to March 2011)

Negotiated Payment Processing Agreements with Dell suppliers.

Oversaw purchase order management for Dell's new Integrator Program to manage the full purchase order lifecycle for Global IT Consulting Services by providing consolidated purchase order processing and consolidated invoice payments.

Gathered and analyzed data, reported findings, suggested improvements, and delivered spend analytics.

Oversaw the clearinghouse for all invoice activity, billing issues and resolution; provided communication to Dell suppliers.

Contracts Administrator - USA Compression Partners (May 2006 to June 2009)

Converted and renegotiated 600 maintenance services agreements in 15 months.

Managed Master Service Agreements, Sales Agreements, Independent Consulting Agreements, Landlord and Warehousing Agreements, and Vendor Agreements.

Evaluated new contracts for conformity to company requirements and acceptability of terms; provided redlined recommendations; negotiated terms with outside legal counsel.

Updated contract information in a proprietary database and reported weekly to CEO and CFO.

Monitored terms and conditions, insurance requirements, costs, and consumer price index increases.

Ensured adherence to lender financing terms: due diligence in billing, estimation of property tax, filing Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) financing statements, and evaluation of impact on revenues.

Rewarded for exceptional efficiency and timeliness of work achievements with four significant recognition bonuses over a three year period.

IP Administrator and Foreign Docketing Agent - Freescale Semiconductor (formerly Motorola) (May 2004 to May 2006)

Managed filing, prosecution and docketing of foreign patent applications for all of Freescale global offices.

Furnished responses to all foreign patent filing, docketing, and related inquiries.

Prepared patent filing reports, managed international filing decisions, prepared and filed Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications directly with receiving offices.

Coordinated retention of foreign counsel. Maintained quality data entry in IPMaster docketing database, ensured timely docketing of patent application correspondence and reconciled past due foreign actions.

Prepared procedural documentation for patent filings and applications.

Contracts Paralegal - SETON Healthcare Network (January 2002 to May 2004)

Negotiated physician services and independent contractor agreements with physicians, medical directors, and hospital administrators. Drafted physician services contracts for nine hospital campuses in Austin.

Negotiated language to ensure compliance with policies and guidelines, business objectives, regulatory requirements.

Prepared status reports and consulted with executive management regarding health care compliance issues.

Network liaison for medical staff and management. Identified non-compliant payments and initiated contract discussions.

Coordinated all physician contract-related documentation including documentation tracking, notification, acknowledgement, dissemination, drafting, editing and maintenance of contract database.

Analyzed quarterly Accounts Payable reports; generated custom reports evidencing compliance.

Legal Assistant - TManage, Inc. (now Megapath) (June 2000 to January 2002)

Oversaw administration of material contract files. Assisted with review and creation of contracts.

Reviewed nondisclosure agreements (NDAs); maintained NDA tracking system.

Audited corporate software license agreements. Conducted legal research including patent and trademark research.

Assisted Human Resources with employment issues and recruitment tasks as needed.

Maintained Corporate Records including Board and Shareholder Actions, Stock Ledger, Option Ledger, and State Filings.

Administered company Stock Option Plan including Option Grants, Approvals, Exercise and Termination.

Provided legal administrative support to General Counsel in matters regarding General Corporate, Intellectual Property, Board & Shareholders, Mergers & Acquisitions, Real Estate & Leasing, Employment (offers, terminations, claims and disputes), and Policies & Procedures.

Legal Assistant - Samsung Austin Semiconductor (April 1997 to June 2000)

Assisted with contract review, maintained contract filing system, and drafted all NDAs.

Maintained legal filing systems, conducted legal research and provided legal assistance to General Counsel.

Facilitated patent filings and managed Patent Review Committee meetings with overseas legal counsel.

Assisted in preparation of responses to EEOC and unemployment claims.

Resource for organization's policies and procedures and established internal department policies..

Functioned as intermediary between legal department and employees, outside counsel, and other agencies.

Maintained Legal Department's web page on corporate intranet.

Received President’s Volunteer Award.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, May 1995, The University of Texas at Austin, Major: Sociology, Minor: Business Administration

Legal Assistant Certificate, September 2000, The University of Texas at Austin, Continuing & Extended Education

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