Team size: 45 UK-based Legal, IP and CoSec professionals

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Our UK-based legal team consists of 45 professionals covering most areas of legal support. This includes corporate legal, intellectual property, board and corporate support, and the local UK legal team which provides all manner of legal support for the UK commercial business.

Over the last 18 months, our teams have provided support on many complex and high-profile matters, of which we would highlight two.

The first was the intense and important work supporting the development, manufacturing and distribution of our Covid-19 treatments, including both the AZ-Oxford vaccine, Vaxevria and our long-acting antibody, Evusheld. This work involved setting up numerous licensing, collaboration and supply chain arrangements from scratch, and establishing frameworks and agreements with governments and international organisations to maximise the number of countries and patients who could access these critical treatments. The teams also supported reputational risks related to media and legal issues related to disputes with governments and regulatory bodies, including settling litigation with the European Commission.

The second matter was the US$41bn acquisition of the rare disease business Alexion, a major strategic deal enabling AstraZeneca to announce double-digit average annual revenue growth through 2025. To achieve this, complex mergers and acquisitions legal work, including the timely approvals of critical competition clearances across multiple jurisdictions, meant AstraZeneca completed the transaction in line with proposed timelines and moved forward with its next chapter of growth. The legal support was led by the corporate transaction lawyers, with critical support from team members specialising in competition, IP and board and corporate support.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

To be successful in the future, in-house legal teams will need to be agile and resilient, both as a team and as individuals, to continue to strengthen and evolve their capabilities in support of a complex and fast-changing world. Critical skills required will likely include strong business acumen, understanding of data and digital drivers and an international perspective and experience. Also, key will be creating an environment where people feel included and safe to learn, contribute and challenge the status quo.

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

It’s important that in-house lawyers are integrated with their business colleagues and build trust by applying a pragmatic approach to assist the business in solving problems and taking advantage of opportunities in real-time.