Senior Commercial Legal Counsel - 6 Month Fixed Term Contract

Ideas | People | Trust

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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, plus the Quality Monitoring Team. The team works closely with the firm’s Technical Standards Group, Ethics Team, 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.

OVERVIEW

The role will involve providing legal advice on all aspects of commercial contracting across BDO’s business areas and helping client facing teams across the Firm win and deliver client engagements within acceptable risk parameters. The role will also involve assisting the Head of Corporate & Commercial – Legal in delivering legal strategic priorities. The role is within the Legal Team, which is based at our London hub, and is for a fixed term of 6 months.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Leading the delivery of legal and risk management advice to BDO’s partners and staff within designated business areas:

• reviewing and negotiating complex commercial agreements with clients across the firm’s business Streams (Audit, Tax and Advisory – with a focus on Audit);
• advising client facing teams on the firm’s legal position with respect to contract lifecycle events (variations, terminations, exit transitions etc.);
• critically evaluating risk and proposing mitigation measures where appropriate, finding innovative solutions to complex challenges;
• assisting the Head of Corporate & Commercial and Head of Legal (General Counsel) to deliver corporate legal support and Legal Team priority projects;
• guiding /supervising less experienced lawyers and risk managers on complex contracts (master services agreements, framework agreements etc.);
• reviewing and negotiating supplier contracts and subcontracts when required;
• leading legal training and presentations to BDO’s partners and staff;
• analysing legal and regulatory developments relevant to BDO’s business, including GenAI, data protection and ESG requirements and ensuring BDO’s contract policies, precedents and guidance are compliant with them;
• interpretation of legislation, case law, regulations and professional standards; and
• building strong working relationships across relevant business streams and practice management departments.

REQUIREMENTS

Essential:

• law degree;
• several years’ post qualification experience in England and Wales or experience practising the laws of England and Wales;
• multiple years’ experience of advising on/negotiating/drafting complex commercial contracts and transactional documentation;
• strong working knowledge of commercial law;
• strong written and oral communication skills;
• ability to confidently explain legal concepts to non-lawyers at a senior level;
• self-starter with ability to manage and prioritise own workload; and
• excellent attention to detail.

Desirable:

• experience of commercial contracting in a professional services firm, technology business and/or regulated business;
• understanding of data protection law (UK and EU GDPR) and experience delivering related legal advice;
• experience of drafting policies and guidance;
• experience of advising on ESG compliance and risk requirements;
• experience of technology contracting (SaaS, PaaS, reseller agreements etc.).

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.

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.

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