JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: School/Service: Campus: Responsible to: Responsible for: Liaison with: Senior Legal Counsel Governance and Legal Services (Vice-Chancellor s Group) Docklands, but prepared to work at any location of the University. Deputy University Secretary Legal Assistant Deputy University Secretary, the Data Protection Officer, the legal team and other members of the Vice-Chancellor s Group, PVC-Deans, Directors and other academic staff; external stakeholders including statutory bodies and external law firms JOB PURPOSE: To provide specialist legal services, professional advice, guidance and support to senior managers on commercial arrangements and to provide specialist legal services, professional advice, guidance and support to senior managers, or, where appropriate, be the first point of contact for, and advise on, the handling of legal issues in other areas relevant to the activities of UEL, its partners and/or subsidiaries including data protection, student issues, employment, litigation and charity law. To advise on negotiation and post-agreement management (with specific reference to dispute resolution) and to handle/manage the handling of specific individual cases of personal or corporate litigation involving staff, students, partner organisations or other parties. To manage the operational aspects of the University s responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act. To assist the Board of Governors, the Vice-Chancellor s Group and University Leadership Team members to ensure compliance across a range of constitutional and regulatory areas and to allow the University to stand up to scrutiny by relevant external bodies. To act as the main contact and liaison point with external lawyers on commercial matters referred to external lawyers, and to manage and oversee that relationship to ensure that the University obtains high quality and timely advice on a cost-effective basis.
To be responsible for the convening and business of the Modern Slavery Working Group including keeping records of agreed actions and producing an annual anti-slavery statement in respect of each financial year. To act as company secretary of subsidiary companies of the University from time to time, coordinate board meetings, deal with relevant statutory filings and ensure relevant registrations, for example, with the Information Commissioner s Office, are kept up to date. To attend meetings of the research office on behalf of the legal team to discuss research and consultancy contracts and other matters arising. To liaise with the University s insurers in relation to ongoing legal cases and to provide advice and assistance to colleagues in relation to insurance matters. MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES To lead in the development and maintenance of a University-wide repository of completed contracts and agreements. To develop and maintain a suite of precedent or template agreements for use across the University. To be the initial contact for members of the University on legal aspects arising on commercial matters and to assist in the formation and development of appropriate policies and precedent documents. To provide legal advice to a range of internal University users, including members of the Vice-Chancellor s Group, PVC-Deans of Colleges, Directors of Professional Services and individual academic staff and managers. To advise senior managers on contractual and legal matters and, where appropriate, to negotiate commercial and legal terms with third parties on behalf of the University. To draft and amend contracts and other legal documents as required, including settlement, commercial, research, external consultancy and subcontract agreements, partnership and franchise agreements, and to maintain a set of template contracts for use by the University in appropriate circumstances. To advise on legal developments affecting the University and to contribute to the development of institutional strategy and policies accordingly. To manage specific claims made against (or by) the University by (or against) staff, students, partner organisations or other parties and to represent the University in any related litigation. To update insurers in respect of legal cases and to notify insurers of any new or threatened legal proceedings. To liaise with panel firm appointed by insurers and to assist in the production of reports on legal cases for the Audit Committee of the Board of Governors. To convene, attend and take minutes of meetings of the Modern Slavery Working Group and to keep records of agreed actions. To produce an anti-slavery statement at the end of each financial year and to liaise with the Deputy University Secretary in relation to arrangements for the statement to be approved by the Board of Governors.
To act as company secretary of subsidiary company, co-ordinate meetings, take minutes and record agreed actions. To carry out statutory filings and keep registrations up to date. To attend meetings of the research office on behalf of the legal team and advise the University generally on its research and consultancy contracts including maintaining the suite of template documents. To advise, as the need arises, on other areas of law which are relevant to the work of the University, its partners and subsidiaries. To contribute to, and support the provision of, training and development to the Board of Governors, senior managers and staff with regard to changes in legislation and good practice in the above areas. The role holder will interpret and explain clearly relevant legal requirements the evaluation and management of risk, influencing a range of staff on changes to policy, procedures and practice across the University, ensuring they remain compliant and in line with changes in the law and good practice. To liaise with and instruct external solicitors and other related professionals engaged to provide specialised legal services to the University. To achieve best value for the University from such external legal resources and to introduce measures to manage the University s exposure to legal risk including management of the relationship with external law firms, advising on the appropriate procurement of legal advice, and support the periodic review and competitive markettesting of the provision of legal services to the University. To represent and promote the University in relevant legal and higher education sector networks. To carry out other duties as advised by the Deputy University Secretary.
Person Specification The following requirements are essential for the role of Senior Legal Counsel: Qualifications Degree and professional qualifications Qualified solicitor, as recognised by the Law Society Current practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority Skills/experience Demonstrate knowledge of commercial and charity law Demonstrate an excellent oral and written communication skills with high level of attention to detail Demonstrate good analytical skills, with the ability to extract key points and write in a clear style Demonstrate excellent drafting skills and proven track record of working with complex or varied contracts Demonstrate proven ability to interact with and influence senior managers Demonstrate willingness to take on increasing responsibility Demonstrate using legal software, for example, to research points of law or to obtain precedent or template legal documents Training and development and professional networking Demonstrate commitment to own professional development, especially in commercial law Demonstrate commitment to retaining links with external law firms and legal departments at other universities The following requirements are desirable for the role of Senior Legal Counsel: Skills/experience Demonstrate experience implementing and maintaining a contract management system
Demonstrate experience advising on data protection matters and familiarity with legislation in this area Demonstrate experience of working as part of a legal team in higher education or other relevant in-house experience.