The ideal candidate for the Associate Counsel role has deep contracting expertise, first-rate legal and business acumen, excellent leadership and customer service skills, and a positive “can-do” attitude. The Associate Counsel is primarily responsible for drafting and negotiating a variety of commercial contracts, with an emphasis on revenue-generating customer agreements. The Associate Counsel will also provide legal advice and counsel to the Company’s various business units and will contribute meaningfully to the ongoing review and improvement of the Company’s guidelines and processes.

This is a client-facing position, and it is expected that the Associate Counsel will establish productive relationships with internal clients, Company clients and other business partners. The work requires thoughtful cross-functional collaboration within the Company. The Associate Counsel has frequent interactions with internal stakeholders across multiple business units and functional groups. The ability to understand risks, balance competing interests, and provide rapid, practical, and appropriate legal advice to the Company’s strategic business units and functional units is critical to success in this role.

Parexel are supportive of a flexible working pattern and the successful individual would need to be onsite in the office a minimum of one day per week. Homebased working is fully supported outside of this.

You will have:

• The ability to analyze complex business and legal issues/risks to achieve practical solutions.

• Exceptional legal drafting skills with an affinity for crafting language to successfully advance negotiations.

• The ability to manage and prioritize multiple and varied negotiations with enthusiasm and attention to detail.

• Possess financial and business acumen.

• Aptitude to lead teams of internal and external stakeholders to drive negotiations.

• Motivation to meet internal and external deadlines.

• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.

• A willingness to take the initiative and display resourcefulness.

Education

• Bachelors or Masters Degree in Law or related legal field.

• Qualified Solicitor with the Law Society of Ireland or equivalent body. 

Minimum Work Experience

• Strong professional experience as a Solicitor, minimum 5 years PQE (large multi-national law firm preferred), and/or 2-6+ years in-house experience supporting commercial operations and negotiating key transactions for a global corporation (preference for life sciences).