Ken Wells

About Ken Wells

Strategic Legal Advising: Trusted advisor with proven expertise in providing insightful legal counsel for complex transactions and including cross-border, multi-jurisdictional matters (China, India, Canada, and EU). • Contract Negotiation & Drafting: Specialized in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide range of IT agreements, including SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, EULA, ISR, and intellectual property (IP) procurement and transfer contracts. • Intellectual Property & Licensing: Extensive experience in IP strategy, licensing, and protection, supporting innovation and technology-driven initiatives including procurement and transfer of IP rights. • Regulatory Compliance: Understanding of GDPR and AI with hands-on experience designing and implementing data privacy and AI-related guidance and contract language. • Experience with regulatory compliance and legal operations for philanthropy, nonprofit, and research organizations. • Process Design & Legal Operations: Skilled in optimizing legal workflows, developing compliance programs, and delivering practical training to cross-functional teams. • Client Relations & Collaboration: Strong client service orientation, adept at building relationships and delivering tailored, collaborative solutions to meet diverse needs. • Ethical Leadership: Committed to the highest ethical standards, sound judgment, and integrity in all professional endeavors. • Licensed in the State of Washington and the State of Texas.

Experience

1. Senior Attorney

   Gates Foundation

   Nov 2020 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   Designated Senior Attorney supporting IT, InfoSec, Security, and operational support at the China Country Office (CCO), with additional programmatic contract assistance as needed including direct support for US Programs as well as Global Health and Communications teams contracts/transactions.• Served on the Foundation\'s AI Coordination and Advisory Panel (AICAP), evaluating proposed AI tools, assisting in the development of guidelines, and advising on AI implementation.• Member of the internal InfoSec response team, coordinating incident response with outside counsel, and negotiating related contracts.• Primary liaison for Senior Attorney team on AI-related issues; facilitated weekly AI office hours and guided compliant AI use and contract negotiations. IAPP AI Governance Certification (AIGP) anticipated fall 2025.• Principal contact for data privacy issues within the Senior Attorney team, including active participation in weekly data privacy office hours.• Provided comprehensive legal counsel across operational, programmatic, and support divisions including procurement.• Senior Attorney backup for operational transaction support for Gates MRI and Gates Ag One organizations.• Strategized, drafted, and negotiated complex transactions: software licensing, SaaS, PaaS, iPaaS, EULA, professional services, and contingent worker contracts.• Negotiated pivotal cross-functional agreements advancing strategic and operational objectives.• Drafted and negotiated IP transfer agreements with IT in support of programmatic work.• Contributed to initial SS & P contract review, risk assessment, and RFI/RFP processes with documentation and guidance.• Developed and conducted training for Foundation grant making, contract and procurement teams on data privacy, AI, and legal issues to mitigate risk and ensure compliance.

Education

• Southern Methodist University

  Law - Dedman School of Law

• Loyola University New Orleans

  Juris Doctor (J.D.)

• IES Abroad

  Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies

• Austin College

  BA