Commercial Counsel

Overview

Montagu Evans is a UK property consultancy that helps clients unlock value from complexity, because that’s where the most meaningful opportunities live. Our purpose is to bring clarity, creativity, and conviction to the complex. We are experts who collaborate to create value, not just preserve it and our team is built for impact, not oversight. We specialise in high-value, complex assets across the property lifecycle, where political, technical or commercial challenges demand a joined-up approach.

The Team/Department

We are seeking a pragmatic and solution orientated commercial counsel to join the Risk & Compliance team at Montagu Evans. As the firm’s first internal legal role, the commercial counsel will provide practical legal and contractual support on live matters, bids, appointments and client terms, while also helping to embed a more consistent approach to contractual and legal risk across the business. The role will help build a scalable internal legal capability: creating clear routes for legal review, improving contract guardrails and playbooks, strengthening contractual standards and bringing legal insight earlier into client pursuits, bids and negotiations. The role will sit within Business Services and work closely with fee-earners, the Head of Risk, the bid team, IT and external counsel to improve how the firm reviews, negotiates and manages legal and contractual risk.

Role Overview

Reporting to the Head of Risk, the Commercial Counsel will provide practical, commercially focused legal support on the firm’s agreements with clients, whether on Montagu Evans standard terms or client-side terms. The role will establish a clear legal triage model, review and sign-off guardrails, and standard positions so that contractual matters are handled at the right level based on value, risk, complexity and strategic importance. Where specialist advice is required, the role will act as the conduit between fee-earners and external counsel, managing those relationships and ensuring external legal spend is targeted, proportionate and fit for purpose. The role will work closely with the bid team, providing legal and contractual input on tenders, panels, frameworks and call-off arrangements. It will also help shape the firm’s approach to data privacy, technology, AI and data processing by formulating and embedding appropriate practices, controls and contractual safeguards. This is a hands-on advisory role requiring sound legal judgement, credibility with fee-earners and the ability to translate legal risk into pragmatic commercial guidance, advising fee-earners on when to accept proportionate risk, when to negotiate and when to escalate for additional consideration.

Responsibilities

• Establish legal review processes and controls, including thresholds for value, risk, liability, insurance, data, subcontracting, public sector terms and sign-off;
• Embed the use of AI, automation and legal technology to improve contract review, legal workflows, knowledge sharing and reporting;
• Improve contract management practices, reviewing internally where appropriate and reducing avoidable reliance on external counsel;
• Manage external counsel, determining when specialist advice is needed and ensuring support is proportionate, responsive and good value;
• Educate fee-earners on key contractual safeguards, including liability, scope, payment, indemnities, reliance, data and subcontracting controls;
• Advise on public sector tenders, panels, frameworks and call-offs, bringing legal insight earlier into bid, pricing and negotiation processes;
• Design, own and maintain the firm’s contract playbook, standard positions, fallback wording, template clauses, escalation criteria and core legal templates, including engagement terms, appointments, reliance letters, NDAs and subcontractor terms;
• Ensure contract positions align with PI insurance, risk appetite and claims defensibility;
• Shape data privacy strategy with the Head Risk, including governance, awareness and policy framework;
• Advise on technology, AI and data contracting, including data use, confidentiality, processing locations and subcontracted providers;
• Report recurring contract risks, external counsel usage, savings opportunities and process improvements;
• Work with Finance, Risk & Compliance, IT, HR, bids and fee-earners to ensure joined-up and commercial support to the business;
• Exercise independent legal judgement, helping teams decide when to proceed, negotiate, escalate or reject terms;
• Support the Head of Risk in firmwide special projects from time-to-time, acting as the representative of the Risk and Compliance function when required.

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor in England and Wales (LPC / SQE)
• Commercial contract experience, ideally in a professional services setting
• Experience advising internal stakeholders in a commercial, pragmatic and risk-based manner
• Experience in real estate, consultancy or public sector contracting would be helpful but is not essential
• Excellent communicator, both written and verbal, with the ability to explain legal risk clearly to fee-earners and senior stakeholders
• Commercially astute and comfortable balancing legal protection with client service and practical deliverability
• Confident managing external legal advisers and assessing whether outsourced support is necessary, proportionate and good value
• The energy and judgement to improve processes, create useful contract guidance and be a trusted advisor across the business
• A collaborative, approachable style and the desire to engage directly with fee-earners, bid teams and business services colleagues

We recognise that the right candidate may be seeking a flexible working arrangement. Applications are welcomed from candidates seeking a 0.6 or 0.8 FTE part-time role, and from those based in London, Manchester, Edinburgh or elsewhere in the UK, provided they can maintain an effective presence with colleagues and stakeholders as required.