Senior Commercial Legal Counsel

Delivery of legal advice to BDO's partners and staff:

• leading the relationship between the Legal Team and the Advisory stream (which comprises 8 business units delivering a diverse range of services);
• reviewing and negotiating complex commercial agreements with Advisory clients e.g. including master services agreements, framework agreements and other more complex commercial contracts
• overseeing the less complex work conducted by junior members of the team, coaching and developing them to succeed in their roles;
• collaborating with the supplier contracting sub-team on any matters spanning both buy and sell side legal advice (strategic partnerships, reseller arrangements etc.);
• acting as people manager to junior team members (supporting professional development and conducting performance reviews etc.)
• guiding client-facing teams in dealing with complex legal queries from clients, their lawyers and procurement teams, including providing real-time advice to project acceptance panels;
• identifying relevant training needs within Advisory and delivering appropriate legal training to develop awareness of legal issues
• interpretation and application of legislation, case law, regulations and professional standards relevant to BDO's business
• building strong working relationships across other relevant business streams and practice management departments.
Managing BDO's contract precedents and processes:
• ensuring that BDO's Advisory contracting templates, guidance, policies and procedures are kept up to date with legal and regulatory developments
• advising on the risk management of new services within the Advisory stream and drafting contracts templates that mitigate the risks involved in delivering them.
  
  Essential:
• England and Wales qualified, or experience practising the laws of England and Wales, with several years' post qualification (or equivalent) experience
• experience of advising on/negotiating/drafting/managing complex commercial contracts (preferably within the professional services and/or technology markets)
• strong working knowledge of standard commercial boilerplate clauses
• familiarity with data protection law (UK GDPR)
• strong written and oral communication skills
• ability to confidently interact and influence at a senior level
• ability to prioritise and manage own workload and that of others
• high degree of personal responsibility
• excellent attention to detail
Desirable:
• experience in supervising the work and development of junior team members
• experience in corporate law
• experience of drafting policy and guidance
• experience in an in-house legal role at a large commercial organisation
• experience of preparing and delivering training
You'll be able to be yourself; we'll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to our business. We're committed to agile working, and we offer everyone the opportunity to work in ways that suit them, their teams, and the task at hand.

We're BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today's changing world. We work with the companies that are Britain's economic engine - ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high-growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams leading them. We'll broaden your horizons The Quality and Risk Management Team (QRM) provides leadership, guidance, and tools to help partners and staff manage quality and risk matters. The team is comprised of an Advisory and Compliance Team, a Chief Information Security Office Team, an Economic Crime Team, a Legal Team including a Commercial & Contracts Team, an Ethics Team plus the Quality Monitoring Team. The team works closely with the firm's Technical Standards Group and the firm's leadership. We'll help you succeed Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships. You'll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, and BDO's partners to help businesses effectively. You'll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with. BDO's QRM team includes a number of lawyers and legal professionals that provide dedicated support on all legal matters arising from our business including commercial contracting, litigation, regulatory proceedings, operations including mergers and acquisitions, governance and partnership matters and supplier contracting., At BDO, we'll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development. We're in it together Mutual support and respect is one of BDO's core values and we're proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we'll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs. Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you'll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work. We know that collaboration is the key to creating value and satisfying experiences at work, so we've invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO's people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we'll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you'll never stop learning at BDO. We're looking forward to the future At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy. Our success is powered by our people, which is why we're always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions. We've got a clear purpose, and we're confident in our future, because we're adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.