Commercial Legal Advisor, Pretoria

Commercial Legal Advisor

Introduction:

A medical device and technology company situated in Pretoria is seeking a dynamic Junior Legal Advisor with at least 2 years work experience post articles to join their team.

Job Purpose:

Provide legal advisory services and support to the business, by providing effective and efficient 1st line of defense and business assurance support. In doing so, the function will support and enable the business to ensure that commercial and contracting are effectively managed, ensuring business sustainability and growth.

Minimum Requirements:

Education

• Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB / BCom) (essential)
• Candidate Attorney (desirable)

Skills and Knowledge (essential):

• Commercial law application in a PTY Ltd company
• Compliance with Companies Act (and fiduciary requirements in terms of applicable legislation)
• Contracts and agreements (contract law)
• Legal research commercial law matters
• Excellent English writing skills
• SARB Regulations
• Takeover Regulation Panel applications
• Shares and Shareholding
• Drafting of Company constitutional documents

Skills and Knowledge (beneficial):

• Exposure to international law (especially the United States and the UK)
• Trademark knowledge
• Patent registration knowledge
• POPIA compliance

Experience:

• Completed articles
• 5 years of relevant experience
• Drafting of contracts and agreements
• Drafting of legal letters
• Reviewing of legal templates for agreements like NDA, Contractors, and Licensing agreements

Key Performance Areas, Weights, and Objectives

Author Contracts and Agreements

• Support the Legal Lead in developing policies and procedures to effectively manage the legal risks identified.
• Review and update policy wordings and other related documents as requested by the business.
• Draft contracts to ensure that the contracts entered by the company are accurate.
• Maintain and continuously improve the company's internal contract template database.
• Draft NDAs in line with company policy.
• Review supplier agreements or terms, escalating to the Legal Lead where needed.
• Provide timeous feedback on reviews to issuing party and line manager

Legal Document Database Management

• Ensure all legal documents are stored, labelled, and backed up correctly.
• Maintain an inventory list of all active agreements.
• Maintain an inventory of all actionable items from active agreements and ensure these are actioned appropriately and on time.
• Action renewals of agreements within time, following instructions from line manager to renew (or else review as possible or offboard the agreement).
• Keep an accurate bank of all expired agreements.
• Keep an accurate bank of all NDAs or Confidentiality agreements, advising internal stakeholders on engagement with external parties

Compliance Advisory

• Under leadership of the Legal Lead, provide all stakeholders with regular information regarding new legislation (which include new Bills, Acts, Regulations, Standards, Directives and Case Law).
• Research all new legislation and regulation and prepare high level impact analyses for Legal Lead.
• Update changes to existing processes because of new legislation.
• Assist and provide support with the legal due diligence process by identifying legal risks and enabling business to implement the appropriate controls to mitigate these risks.

IP Portfolio administration

• Maintain a list of all IPs (registered and unregistered).
• Manage communications internally and externally regarding IP filing and compliance.
• Draft IP documentation, aligning internally on the purpose of such IP.
• Guide internal team in the drafting of documentation to ensure IP protection.

Remuneration

Market-related