Our client, a global technology services company with £15bn revenue, was looking to hire a commercial technology lawyer to join their UK&I legal team.
With their business continuing to grow rapidly, they were seeking a team member with at least 3 years of experience in complex IT Outsourcing deals.
The role:
This Legal Counsel position was part of UK team of 10 commercial / outsourcing in-house lawyers, responsible for negotiating a range of IT services agreements with clients, from high-value MSAs to subcontracts and reseller agreements.
The role advised the leadership team on high-risk issues, provided pragmatic legal support at all stages of the contracting process, and work on ad hoc strategic legal/commercial projects.
Part of the role was also to create and provide legal training to business colleagues on key risk issues and collaborate with fellow lawyers in the global team to develop and improve contracting and legal risk management practices.
Our candidate: Tier 1 global firm associate
The candidate that we have secured for our client was a 3.5 PQE solicitor with a broad range of expertise in technology, commercial and outsourcing contracts, gained at a major global law firm and as an in-house secondee.
This person had over three years of experience as an associate in the Tier 1 ranked technology and outsourcing group at a global law firm in London after training with the firm.
Following their secondments the candidate was keen to move into an in-house role where they would focus on technology and outsourcing agreements, ideally without significant corporate or data protection related activities.
The role that our client was hiring for was exactly the right fit.
Candidate’s experience:
The candidate had experience advising both customers and suppliers on technology contracts including transformational IT outsourcing arrangements, software development agreements, and ‘as a service’ solutions.
At their law firm, the candidate was involved in several complex transformational IT services transactions.
Experience included procuring a variety of outsourced IT services via a well-known IT outsourcer, drafting a suite of tender documentation and agreements for a public sector client, and advising a supplier client in respect of its successful bid for communications services to be enrolled into the UK’s public sector infrastructure.
They had advised supplier clients on their bid activity including responses to tenders and proposals as well as customer clients on the drafting of RFP/tender agreements and documentation.
They also had experience of working on a variety of complex transactions, from negotiating IT services agreements and software licenses to advising clients on procurement and regulatory compliance issues.
Candidate’s in-house secondments:
The candidate had undertaken two in-house secondments where they advised on the procurement of technology solutions from vendors, resolved ad-hoc legal questions, and provided pragmatic, commercially-focused legal support.
On their client secondment to an FMCG company, the candidate negotiated agreements for the provision of business-critical IT services and resolved ad-hoc legal queries from the business teams.
As part of another in-house secondment, they advised on the procurement of various technology solutions from vendors, including under framework agreements with statements of work.
Candidate’s soft skills:
Throughout their career, the candidate had built and maintained relationships with internal stakeholders, ensuring they were a trusted advisor for both legal advice and risk analysis.
The candidate was an approachable and personable individual, quickly able to create trust, and both likeable and capable. They had a natural ability to connect with people on a personal level, making them easy to approach and easy to work with.
Outcome:
Our candidate was successfully hired in 2023 for the role of in-house legal counsel at this IT services company.
With their experience in complex IT Outsourcing agreements and their ability to build and maintain relationships, the candidate was immediately a valuable addition to the team.
In their role they have been very successful in providing pragmatic legal support at all stages of the contracting process and collaborating with fellow lawyers in the global team to develop and improve how they contract, and how they navigate and address legal risk.
Found Legal’s ability to find highly qualified and culturally aligned legal professionals has been key to our success in placing candidates in organisations across the UK and Europe.
This case study is another example of our ability to identify, evaluate, and present a candidate who met or exceeded our client’s needs and expectations.
We are committed to providing our clients with talented, experienced, and dedicated legal professionals who will add value to their businesses and in-house legal teams.
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