Senior In-House Commercial Contracts Lawyer

Our Office of the General Counsel advises on a wide variety of risk issues that arise in the delivery of professional services across the areas of assurance, tax, and advisory in which the firm operates. We’re happy to talk flexible working and consider reduced hours and job shares. We’ll support you to balance your work and life.

A look into the role

We are looking to recruit an experienced commercial contracts lawyer in our in-house legal team. In this role, you will:

• Negotiate contracts with clients, including commercial MSA’s and public-sector framework agreements, and advise on contracts with sub-contractors, suppliers, and others.
• Consider how to improve our own standard terms of business from time to time in light of our experiences of negotiating contracts with other parties and of the issues that arise in the course of engagements with clients.
• Deal with a wide range of other commercial contracting issues, including advising on local-country adoption contracts for global framework agreements, agreements with other member-firms of Grant Thornton International Limited, data-sharing agreements, secondment and other placement agreements, and software supply contracts.
• Interpret and explain contractual provisions for the benefit of colleagues in the firm.
• Provide legal input into various other contracting situations that arise, including considering termination provisions in contracts with consultants, providing occasional legal input into non-disclosure agreements, tendering documentation, and agreements to allow the disclosure of our work-product to third parties e.g. on a non-reliance basis.
• Advise colleagues on how best to manage risk and on compliance issues.
• Deal with other legal and risk-management issues arising from the services that we deliver.
• Advise on collaboration agreements and referral and introduction contracts.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues in our Office of the General Counsel and our risk-management team to deliver advice to our people, including partners, directors, and other stakeholders, and to help protect and enable them to deliver excellent services to our clients.
• Guide and support the work of less experienced contracting lawyers, providing regular feedback and identifying learning and development opportunities.
• Identify trends in the risks that the firm faces, and how best to mitigate them, including modifying the firm’s templates, procedures, and ways of doing business.
• Help educate colleagues across the firm about legal and commercial risk issues, including by providing input into training and the firm’s guidance, manuals, etc. for its practitioners.

Knowing you’re right for us

The minimum criteria are that you be a qualified solicitor or barrister and that you have the following skills:

• Experience of drafting and negotiating commercial contracts.
• A good knowledge of professional liability law.
• An understanding of professional services contracting and risk-management issues.
• A pragmatic and commercial, solution-based approach.
• A self-starting attitude and the ability to manage conflicting demands.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the drafting of contractual terms.
• Experience of managing colleagues and helping them develop in their own roles.

Knowing we’re right for you

Embracing uniqueness, the culture at Grant Thornton thrives on the contributions of all our people. We never settle for what is easy; we look beyond to deliver the right thing for everyone. Building an inclusive culture, where we value difference and respect our colleagues, helps our people to perform at the best of their ability and realize their potential. Our open and accessible culture means you’ll interact with leaders who are interested in you and everything you bring to our firm. As for the things that set you apart, we value them. That’s why we give you the freedom to bring your whole self to work and pursue your passions inside and outside of work.

Beyond the job

Life is more than work. The things you do, and the people you’re with outside of work matter, and that’s why we’re happy to look at flexible working options for all our roles, and we’ll always do our best to keep your work and life in balance. The impact you can make here will go far beyond your day job. From secondments to fundraising for local charities or investing in entrepreneurs in the developing world, you’ll be giving back to society. It’s that drive to do the right thing that runs through our every move, grounded in our firm’s values – purposefully driven, actively curious, and candid but kind. We’re looking for people who want to contribute, spark fresh ideas, and go beyond expectations. People who want to be able to proudly do what’s right for the firm, our clients, our people, and themselves. It’s how it should be.