Specialised in intellectual property and commercial contracts and opting for a career as an in-house lawyer from the outset of my career in 2000, I have acquired a high level of commercial expertise and astute analytical aptitude together with excellent negotiation and communication skills. I am a thorough and methodical lawyer, having gained the appreciation and respect for my professional advice and integrity by executive managers, colleagues and negotiation opponents alike.
To expand my qualifications and skillset, I have gained the GDL and LPC through full-time studies while concurrently working part-time as an in-house lawyer. On completing the LPC with a Commendation, I was awarded the prestigious lecturers’ prize for being the most professional and committed student of the year. I am a member of CILEx, and for many years I have advised various Cambridge technology businesses on a freelance basis concurrently with my employment.
In 2023, I decided to leave employment as in-house legal counsel and focus my career on providing legal consultancy services on a freelance basis. The inspiration for this move was an appetite for the variety and interesting quality of work which is available to me as a freelance lawyer and the opportunity to build and maintain relationships with a much broader mix of clients. This exposes me to different technology fields with differing legal requirements to match and necessitates adaptation to multiple fast-paced delivery schedules. This is a thoroughly enjoyable and fulfilling path which enables me to balance my expertise and many years of experience with supporting several businesses in protecting their interests while securing commercial success. I am truly thriving on the wealth of challenges I am offered as a freelance lawyer and the satisfaction of supporting various clients simultaneously.
Furthermore, working as a freelance lawyer provides the flexibility for me to spend some of my time further developing and broadening my professional skills in the legal field as well as improving and refining my administrative skills, adding to my efficiency and ability to present my advice in an easy to absorb fashion as well as furthering my research abilities.
2017 – 2023: Corporate Counsel at Cryptomathic Limited, a leading provider of cryptography-based security solutions for businesses and institutions with the highest cybersecurity needs across a wide range of industry sectors, including banking, government agencies, technology, cloud and mobile. Headquartered in Denmark with subsidiaries in the UK, Europe and the US.
2012 – January: Lawyer, Granta Design Limited (now Ansys UK Limited), a leader in enterprise materials information management and the provider of the world’s leading teaching resource for materials topics in engineering, science, processing and design which is used by countless universities worldwide.
2011 – 2012: Legal Advisor, Cambridge Display Technology Limited, which operates within a wide range of topics, including information and communications technology, from fundamental understanding to optimising materials and devices for market applications.
2000 – 2009: Director of Legal Affairs, nCipher Corporation Limited (now nCipher Security), a hardware security module and encryption software provider, delivering trust, integrity and control to business-critical information and applications.
(9 months): Legal Assistant to the Partner in the Innovation and Technology Team, Tayor Vinters LLP (now part of the Mishcon de Reya Group).
Having often been the sole legal in-house advisor, I am accustomed to supporting other aspects of the business, such as fulfilling various corporate requirements, data protection obligations and compliance obligations, and to some extent support of the HR function, as well as researching and advising on new requirements for the business in the legal field.
I am adept at managing my workload and prioritising the tasks assigned to me. With impeccable time management and organisational skills and a very keen eye for detail, I work methodically and to high standards.
Having worked my entire career in England, I speak English fluently and am a native Danish speaker. I have studied and continually worked with English and US common law as well as the continental European legal systems.
I pride myself of balancing a practical and pragmatic approach to supporting my clients’ legal and contractually requirements with working to high standards and meeting tight deadlines promptly.
Being a freelance lawyer, I am available for your business to engage temporarily without any on-going or long-term commitment.
I provide my legal consultancy services in the format which suits the individual client. This means that I can be available on a case-by-case basis when needed by your business (billing on the basis of each quarter of an hour commenced) or on the basis of a weekly retainer if a client prefers to secure my time in a predictable and ongoing fashion. I am also available to cover an existing member of staff’s absence from work, e.g. maternity or parental leave, or to assist when your legal team is busier than normal and may need additional support to meet the needs of the business on a short-term basis.
I am happy to provide my services for your business remotely from my own office in Cambridge or be present in your offices (within the Cambridge area) as desired.
Please contact me to receive a quote for my current daily rate (8 hours) as a legal consultant, my half-day rate, and my hourly rate as required.
Being an external consultant to your business, I am responsible for my own taxes and National Insurance contributions.
Invoices are issued when services are completed and are payable by bank transfer thirty days after the date of receipt of invoice via email.
Before commencing my legal services for your business, we will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement and a Consultancy Agreement as well as a an engagement letter or power of attorney (if required to present to third parties in order to execute my services).