Senior Legal Counsel

Location: Office or Remote, UK based

Key Responsibilities 

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating various commercial contracts and agreements, with a particular focus on development/distribution/out-licensing/in-licensing agreements across global territories.
• Act as the legal team owner and ‘go-to’ point of contact for the business on all non-US legal patent litigation, pre-litigation and IP licensing matters, and offer proactive support to the General Counsel in all territories.
• Support the General Counsel and business in developing and implementing legal strategies for protecting the intellectual property of the Group.
• Provide expert and pragmatic solutions-based legal advice on a timely basis to support the business in a variety of areas across multiple jurisdictions, including strategic IP advice, ensuring that advice is balanced against legality, commerciality and business priorities.
• Support the General Counsel in the design, implementation and evolution of the company’s legal governance and approval processes to protect and enhance the Company’s operations across all geographies.
• Proactively identify legal risk areas and work with the General Counsel to develop risk mitigation solutions including through updating of company templates, policies and procedures.
• Ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including data protection, competition, health and safety, environmental law, anti-bribery, criminal finance and fraud, and modern slavery, while proactively staying up to date with legislative and regulatory changes.
• Assist with the support, supervision and development of other team members, where requested by the General Counsel.

 

Key Behaviours

• Lead, motivate, and coach your team to deliver their best, fostering collaboration and engagement across the business.
• Drive a positive culture, celebrate success, and share best practices to boost performance and efficiency.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and provide valuable insights to support informed decision-making.
• Operate effectively within agreed budgetary constraints.
• Ensure full compliance with procedural and governance standards, including competition law, anti-bribery legislation, the Criminal Finances Act, GDPR, and relevant industry codes of practice.
• Oversee supplier management and governance processes, and maintain strict adherence to the Group’s Levels of Authority (LOA) within your area of responsibility.

 

Knowledge and Experience 

• Qualified UK lawyer with a minimum 6 years PQE (essential).
• A minimum of 4 years’ industry experience, including substantial exposure to the pharmaceutical sector, as well as a proven track record in building and developing teams (essential).
• Experience of working in a Private Equity environment (desirable).

 

Skills

• Excellent communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills, ability to influence multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to forge strong, collaborative partnerships across all key business functions, working seamlessly with their own team to deliver exceptional results.