Legal Counsel
- Employer
- Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
- Location
- London
- Salary
- Competitive
- Posted
- May 18, 2024
- Closes
- Jun 15, 2024
- Practice
- Litigation
- Position
- Counsel
- Contract Type
- Permanent
The In House Legal Counsel will be part of a small, friendly and supportive team of legal experts. The legal team supports across the whole of the CGT Catapult organisation, partnering with stakeholders (including the senior leadership team) to provide high quality, proactive advice that enables the organisation to execute on high impact, novel projects and initiatives within the cell and gene therapy sector.
The In House Legal Counsel will provide expert legal advice and support across the whole range of CGT Catapult business functions. Reporting to the Head of Legal, the Legal Counsel will be enabled and encouraged to work with high autonomy in a fast–paced but supportive environment.
The In House Legal Counsel will draft, review, negotiate and advise in relation to a broad range of commercial matters including: R&D collaboration agreements, academic/industry consortium agreements, intellectual property licences, and agreements for the procurement of goods, services and software. The role will support the continuing growth and development of operations at several sites across the UK including our two MHRA licenced manufacturing and innovation centres based in Stevenage and Braintree and recently opened laboratories within the University of Edinburgh.
In addition, the In house Legal Counsel will provide support on other matters as and when they arise (with appropriate support where required) including data protection compliance and subject access requests, dispute resolution, property matters, corporate / company secretarial matters, HR support and legal operations / optimisation projects.
Key Accountabilities:
Developing and applying an understanding of CGT Catapult's strategic aims for the UK cell and gene therapy industry to be able to advise internal business partners on legal issues, risks and compliance matters and proactively develop practical solutions that balance business and impact opportunities with legal risks.
Partnering with internal and external stakeholders to deliver high quality legal services to enable CGT Catapult to deliver its objectives.
Drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad range of agreements, for example R&D Collaboration Agreements, Licencing Agreements, Consultancy Agreements, Service Agreements, Data Sharing Agreements, Procurement Agreements (including advising on tender documentation where relevant), CDAs and MTAs.
Advising on contractual data protection matters.
Contributing to data protection compliance activities, including responses to data subject access requests.
Where necessary, liaising with external legal counsel to obtain advice or manage / instruct their performance of legal services for CGT Catapult.
Developing and delivering training on legal and compliance issues to the business.
Actively contributing to knowledge management and development, as well as legal operations optimisation initiatives, such as contract templates, checklists, legal technology / software and policy documents.
Support Head of Legal with company secretarial and other corporate matters.
Experience:
Experience of working independently with clients/stakeholders to deliver positive outcomes.
Experience within or exposure to the life sciences industry would be advantageous but is not essential.
Experience of legal and IP issues that can arise in relation to R&D based agreements and license agreements, such as ownership, licensing and exploitation of IP rights would be advantageous.
A desire to support the mission of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult to accelerate the development of a commercial cell and gene–based therapy industry in the UK.
A desire to establish a high profile career within the cell and gene sector and the personal drive to help push the sector to be a commercial success.
Highly motivated, pragmatic and practical.
Demonstrable skills in reviewing and negotiating a wide variety of commercial contracts.
The ability to apply experience and research to adapt to commercial or business requirements.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills (including both written and oral) and emotional intelligence.
A strong attention to detail.
Ability to quickly interpret and discuss complex legal matters with stakeholders at varying levels of seniority.
Commercial acumen to understand how the key objectives of CGT Catapult interplay with the transactions that it enters into and impact the risk appetite of the business in dealing with them.
A quick and willing learner who enjoys discussing ideas and putting them into action.
Adaptability and flexibility to respond positively to new, different and challenging situations.
Confidence to take on responsibilities with limited supervision but with the selfawareness to know when to ask for help.
Comfortable operating autonomously once goals and objectives are set.
A strong team player who is willing to get stuck in and volunteer for a variety of tasks.
Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple and varied tasks, and prioritise work within a fast–paced professional environment.
Good IT skills, with proficiency in the standard Microsoft package.
Education / Qualifications
This role would be best suited to a candidate with 0–2 years post qualification experience in a law firm and/or in–house legal team.