“What attracts me to being an in-house lawyer is the opportunity to serve in a listening and counseling role,” said Peter Obersheimer. In January 2025 he was appointed Senior Counsel for the Litigation and Employment Practice Group at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, after rising through the ranks of the legal department since he arrived as an Attorney Fellow in 2016.
In November 2024, Obersheimer was named by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) one of the year’s “ACC Top 10 30-Somethings.” The awards recognize international in-house counsel for their innovation, approach to challenges, well-rounded perspectives, contributions to the in-house community, and pro bono and volunteer work. Dana-Farber’s General Counsel Jennifer Willcox praised Obersheimer’s sterling track record, powers of persuasion, and ability to “build relationships even when opinions about the best approach may differ.”
“Relationships are incredibly important here,” said Obersheimer. “In fact, I think they’re important for any attorney, no matter what they’re doing.”
Early in his career, he practiced commercial litigation at mid-sized firms in New York City, Buffalo, NY, and Boston. He contrasts the intense though transient bonds formed with clients in those settings with the long-term relationships he has formed at Dana-Farber, working shoulder to shoulder with colleagues in different professions for whom he has become “a sounding board and creative thought partner, and a kind of even-keeled advisor during complex decisions and issues.”
Whatever aspect of his varied and challenging portfolio preoccupies him on a given day—data privacy, intellectual property, medical malpractice, employment litigation—Obersheimer is always mindful of his role in supporting the institute’s core goals: “treating patients and finding a cure for cancer.”
“A success in my book,” he said, “is if I’m able to help quickly resolve issues and let our business and medical leaders go back to the mission at Dana-Farber.”
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