What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have recently been involved in?

We have received funding of up to US$100m in a Series E financing to support the expanded commercialisation of the GENOSYL® Delivery System; this is the first and only tankless inhaled nitric oxide delivery system approved by the FDA.

We also secured a US$50m funding from Runway Growth Capital.

Both of these deals won Deal of the Year from the Georgia Biotech, which is a huge achievement.

Did the pandemic lead to a lasting increase in the interaction your legal team has with the strategic plans of the company?

Absolutely—because the pandemic introduced uncertainty into every aspect of the business, it led to an increased legal presence in everything, from employment, to commercial, to supply issues.

In general, what would you like to see change about the external law firms you use?

I would like external law firms to act more like business partners. This extends to many aspects of how they conduct business, including flexibility in billing (being cognizant that certain legal tasks require a certain level of work, and how their work may affect internal legal budgets), but also includes being able to give counsel or assist in negotiations with an eye toward business goals beyond simply managing legal risks. I do think external law firms need to become more cognizant of the teams they are fielding—a lack of diversity is jarring in this day and age, particularly when the teams are large.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

Keeping contact and interest with business partners is key: keeping communication channels open beyond simply legal questions, to get to know the ins and outs of the business and the problems that the business partners face helps both parties work better together. Often, business partners are not clear about the role of lawyers, so getting to know their day-to-day issues often helps surfaces issues that you would not have known about otherwise. I have found that really knowing the headaches of our business partners (both legal and non-legal) allows in-house lawyers to balance risk but also spot opportunities.