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It’s a new role, but it’s with people Andrew Boczkowski knows well. The newly minted vice president of US litigation at GSK is now managing a group that he’s worked alongside for most of his career.
Boczkowski has been in-house at GSK since 2004, making him an institution at the global biopharma company, which specializes in medicines, vaccines, and general health solutions. When asked if he felt nervous about transitioning into a leadership role over longtime colleagues, the VP says no. He trusts his people far too much to worry about how a title change would affect their working relationship.
“We have a dedicated team of in-house litigators that are truly a best-in-class group of lawyers,” Boczkowski says. “We’re deep experts in our space, and when it comes to serving our internal company clients, we’re highly effective at dispute resolution and prevention. We’re not just there to defend problems on the back end. We’re active partners with our internal clients and like to think ahead with them about how to guide the company through legal challenges of the day.”
That collaborative approach extends to GSK’s external counsel relationships. Boczkowski has heard it many times: the in-house lawyers at GSK are deeply involved in the cases they work on and ready to roll up their sleeves to tackle hard work. Boczkowski is no exception. He says one of the first important lessons he learned from his clerking days was to treat every case as important, not just the “important” ones.
“That’s what I bring to this team,” the VP explains. “I have a passion for the law and an intellectual interest in getting involved. I want to be a partner, and I want to collaborate. I’m excited to do that with a team of great people that I’ve worked with for such a long time.”
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Andy on complex, multijurisdictional cases. He has deep expertise and brought a steady hand to managing these cases,” says Sean Gallagher, partner at Bartlit Beck. “And when it came time for trial, his strategic guidance just made us all better. I truly value every opportunity we have to work together.”
Dedicated to Giving Back
When Boczkowski came to GSK in 2004, he wasn’t just searching for the right legal role. He was looking for a place where he could keep pro bono work at the center of his practice. While in-house attorneys often struggle to maintain pro bono commitments after leaving law firms, Boczkowski was determined to make time for it in-house.
In his early days at GSK, the lawyer helped establish the company’s legal pro bono program. Since then, the program has grown quickly. In 2015, Boczkowski and his counterparts aligned the program with GSK’s community partnership group. It also secured insurance coverage for the attorneys performing pro bono work and expanded the program globally. This expansion allowed attorneys at GSK’s homegrown UK business and other GSK groups around the world to participate.
The group is a member of Corporate Pro Bono, an organization dedicated to substantially increasing the amount of pro bono work by in-house counsel. GSK continues to hit its expansion goals.
A Fitting Tribute for a Legal Legend
Andrew Boczkowski began his legal career clerking for the Honorable Louis C. Bechtle of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Bechtle died in December 2024. Boczkowski and many, many others made sure to celebrate his life and the mentorship he provided to so many beginning their law careers.
“Many of the thirty-seven law clerks Judge Bechtle had mentored were at the memorial service,” Boczkowski recalls. “I feel so lucky to have started my career with someone who did so much to give back to others. It’s something I’ve thought about my entire career.”
In many ways, the pro bono program Boczkowski created at GSK is a fitting tribute to the mentorship the lawyer received from Judge Bechtle as well as the numerous partners and attorneys who helped guide him during his early years at firm Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young.
Boczkowski says he’s incredibly proud that the legal team has partnered with GSK’s IMPACT Awards programs in the US and UK, which provide charitable grants to nonprofits in Durham, North Carolina; the Greater Philadelphia regions; and the UK. The pro bono team provides nonprofit legal assessment training and legal services to certain award recipients.
“Sometimes that’s just us, and sometimes it includes our external law firm partners, who, frankly, inspired us to launch this program in the first place,” Boczkowski explains. “It’s a great way to get together within the company to drive a common goal. It’s bigger than the legal department; it’s a company-wide effort that feels great to be a part of.”
“I have worked alongside Andy since he joined GSK in 2004 and have observed his commitment not only to defending GSK in its most high-profile litigation, but also as cofounder of its very impressive pro bono program,” says Andy Bayman, partner at King & Spalding. “He is a true example of professionalism and community service and a role model to all lawyers who want to practice on the cutting-edge of the law while also giving back to the community.”
Jay Lefkowitz, partner at Kirkland & Ellis, feels the same way. “Andy brings a wealth of knowledge, intelligence, and dedication both to his decades-long work at GSK, where he has been an invaluable partner, and to the pro bono efforts he spearheads both at GSK and with outside counsel. Given his passion for the law and commitment to his clients, Kirkland is honored to have opportunities to collaborate with Andy and his team at GSK.”
At home, Boczkowski is building another kind of legacy. The father of three daughters jokes that GSK might see another generation of Boczkowskis in a few more years. One of his three daughters recently won an award for designing a wearable inhaler—an idea her dad found particularly interesting.
“She doesn’t want to tell me too much about it because she’s afraid I’ll go for the patent first,” Boczkowski says, laughing. “I guess I’ve taught her well. But in all sincerity, that balance with my wife, Meg, and three girls—Hazel, Stella, and Coco—has been so important, and I believe it’s a huge part of being truly successful in your career.”
Expertise Spotlight
Kirkland & Ellis is an international law firm serving a broad range of clients around the world in high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation; private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and alternative asset management; restructurings; and white collar and government disputes. We offer the highest quality legal advice coupled with extraordinary, tailored service to deliver exceptional results to our clients and help their businesses succeed. We invest in the brightest legal talent and build dynamic teams that operate at the pinnacle of their respective areas.
Renowned for our experience in complex litigation, our clients rely on us to anticipate their needs and outperform their expectations. We believe that the best litigation results — whether achieved in court or across the bargaining table — occur when the lawyers are fully prepared to try the case through verdict. We represent clients in trial and appellate courts at the federal and state level, before administrative tribunals, in arbitrations and other dispute resolution proceedings, and in connection with proceedings involving government agencies, and our lawyers have tried cases successfully to verdict or judgment in virtually every business segment and substantive area.
Please see www.kirkland.com for more information.
