WHAT DOES A COMMERCIAL LAWYER DO?

Published: July 25, 2024 - The Commercial Lawyer oversees the drafting, negotiation, and closure of contracts, providing strategic legal support on data privacy and intellectual property rights. Expertise extends to advising on human resources issues, litigation, and managing external counsel across various jurisdictions. Dedicated to fostering strong relationships within the business, the role ensures exceptional, customer-focused service while handling a diverse range of commercial matters for SMEs, larger corporates, and high-net-worth individuals.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Commercial Lawyer

1. Commercial Lawyer Duties

    • Contract Management: Assisting with drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and advising on a wide range of contracts for businesses including commercial, IT, IP, outsourcing, and other supplier agreements.
    • Confidentiality Management: Dealing independently with confidentiality agreements.
    • Legal Advisory: Assisting other members of the legal team with providing advice and training to other functional areas on a range of legal and regulatory matters.
    • Record Keeping: Ensuring the internal record keeping and contract management of businesses is robust.
    • Legal Research: Carrying out legal research.
    • Representation: Attending meetings (both internal and external) representing the legal department.
    • Document Management: Arranging signature of documents by authorized signatories.
    • Document Control: Ensuring that all legal documents are signed by the relevant parties and posted or emailed and contracts filed appropriately.
    • Internal Collaboration: Liaising where appropriate with group-wide colleagues on related matters and topics.
    • Contract Drafting: Drafting and negotiating NDAs and PIIAs, consulting agreements, services agreements, licensing agreements.

    2. Commercial Lawyer Details

    • Bid Management: Work on medium to high complexity bids or may support more senior lawyers on strategic deals.
    • Legal Guidance: Give clear and pragmatic legal guidance.
    • Policy Development: Develop and comply with the companies legal and compliance policies and strategies, including development and utilization of standard contracts for provision of standard product offerings.
    • Strategic Influence: Influence the strategic approach taken for the bids you are leading, working with the deal leads.
    • External Legal Management: Assist in managing external legal providers.
    • Compliance Promotion: Promote a compliance culture and model that is second to none in the industry and becomes an important selling tool for customer retention and new business acquisition.
    • Governance Identification: Identify other governance and compliance issues within and referring them to appropriate owners and support functions.
    • Risk Management: Promote effective risk management by identifying, assessing, and managing legal and commercial risk.
    • Commercial Support: On-going commercial legal support to senior counsel.
    • M&A Assistance: Assisting in facilitation of investment rounds and M&A, including Due-Diligence and keeping of a VDR.

    3. Commercial Lawyer Responsibilities

    • Contract Management: Accountable for support to business to draft, negotiate, and close contracts.
    • Data Privacy Leadership: To give direction and lead legal support on data issues and data privacy.
    • Junior Staff Mentorship: Responsible for coaching, mentoring, and leading junior legal staff in the organization.
    • Intellectual Property Oversight: Oversees intellectual property and support to business in protecting its intellectual property rights.
    • HR Advisory Support: Provide advice and support to HR.
    • Litigation Support: Support and advice on litigation.
    • Relationship Building: Build relationships with business colleagues and provide excellence in customer-focused service.
    • Outside Counsel Management: Instruct and manage outside counsel (across multiple jurisdictions).
    • Commercial Law Management: Managing own files across a broad range of commercial matters.
    • Diverse Client Representation: Enjoy handling a variety of matters on behalf of largely typically SMEs to larger corporates and high net wealth individuals.

    4. Commercial Lawyer Accountabilities

    • Employment Law Interpretation: Interpretation of employment contracts, workplace dismissals, and managing employee claims that may arise.
    • Mediation Expertise: Experience in mediation and conciliations.
    • Workplace Safety: Work, health, and safety matters and workplace investigations.
    • Policy Review: Reviewing and preparing workplace policies and proactively ensuring compliance adherence.
    • Commercial Legal Advice: Provide commercial legal advice and support across Boots, No7 Beauty Company, and other businesses on commercial matters.
    • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Working alongside a wide range of business areas and internationally including Procurement, Finance, Boots Trading, International Sales, Marketing, Ecommerce, IT, Logistics, Healthcare, and Research & Development teams.
    • Legal Issue Awareness: Enhance awareness of potential legal issues throughout Walgreens Boots Alliance, enabling the business to grow and operate safely.
    • Contract Negotiation: High-quality contract drafting and negotiation in relation to various types of agreements including brand partnerships, software license and support, software as a service, IT professional services, consultancy services, HR services, marketing agency services, logistics, reseller and distribution agreements, and trading matters.
    • Risk Management: Ensure that any contractual arrangements accurately reflect the intentions of the business and that all significant risks are managed appropriately.
    • Client Care: The provision of outstanding client care, technically sound & efficient advice.

    5. Commercial Lawyer Functions

    • Contract Drafting: General commercial drafting including obtaining client instructions and drafting shareholder agreements, founder agreements, employment agreements amongst many other agreements.
    • Legal Documentation: Completing, filing, and serving court documents.
    • Client Communication: Client contact for a range of client queries and assistance to the Practice Principal and support staff in existing and new legal matters.
    • Case Management: Carriage of new client matters from end-to-end.
    • Employment Law: Legal work for employment law matters, including founder and employee exits, unfair dismissal, general protections, conciliation preparation, and attendance.
    • Dispute Resolution: Commercial disputes including letters of demand, commencement of legal proceedings, preparing briefs, working with barristers, and attendance at conciliations, courts, and tribunals.
    • Administrative Coordination: Coordinating and carrying out administration tasks, when required, including reception, mail, couriers, greeting clients, and filing.
    • Team Collaboration: Liaising with support staff for administrative tasks and with other team members for content production, including articles and posts for social media.
    • Educational Development: Running or participating in webinar creation, conducting training, and running workshops.
    • Compliance Adherence: Abiding by workplace health and safety policies and procedures.