In-house counsel

I work closely with in-house counsel as an extension of their own legal teams, building on my industry and sector knowledge and in-house experience to get to grips quickly with my clients’ individual businesses. I try to work like you do: providing pragmatic advice balancing risk management against the need to keep the wheels of the business turning.

I regularly assist in-house legal teams by advising on specific contracts or projects as well as by providing interim and overflow support during periods when the legal team’s resource is stretched.

You’ll see that while I can offer expertise comparable to a boutique law firm and am happy to support large, business-critical projects, I’m also happy to take on a “no job too small” approach to overflow work. My in-house clients tell me that a significant challenge is dealing with the regular influx of day-to-day contracts in a cost-effective way. I offer both competitive rates, and the confidence and experience to deal efficiently with low-risk matters without “over-lawyering” the job.

Some examples of recent work are:

  • drafting outsourced procurement contracts, liaising with the client’s legal and procurement teams, for two multi-£million projects;
  • providing contracts for European and UK Government funded collaborations and projects (both academic and commercial), addressing consortium and sub-contracting arrangements;
  • negotiating and concluding contracts with suppliers, from IT support and GMP consultancy to temp and agency recruitment;
  • providing general “ad-hoc” support for in-house teams’ internal clients on day-to-day matters (minor contractual disputes, minor contracts for cleaning, software licences, customer amendments to the client’s standard terms, NDAs);
  • supporting GDPR compliance projects in companies from start-ups to multinationals.

In short: I’m uniquely well-placed to work for in-house counsel. I love doing it (and they appreciate it, too).

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  • As the sole legal counsel at Perspectum Diagnostics there are times when I required an extra pair of hands. Max proved to be a safe pair of hands in providing the commercial legal support I needed. He is responsive, knowledgeable, pragmatic and consequently, excellent value for money. He can provide a seamless adjunct to an overstretched legal team or act as an ad hoc legal counsel to smaller companies. I would have no hesitation in recommending Max.

    Perspectum Diagnostics Michelle Harte, Legal Counsel

  • Max has been a brilliant source of support to my department while we have been filling some new positions. He is very quick, both quick to grasp what you need and also to turn around the work. All work has also been completed to a very high standard, including some complex drafting on substantial contracts. He has a calm and professional manner and has negotiated solutions on a number of tricky points. We simply could not have managed without Max over the last few months.

    Russell Group University In-House Counsel

  • We see Max as a part of our team rather than an external legal advisor. His advice is always clear, concise and pragmatic and more importantly he is able to interface effectively with all our internal stakeholders.

    International Biotechnology Company General Counsel

  • Max is an absolute pleasure to work with and fits right into our in-house legal team. Max has built up strong relationships with members of the business that he has worked with and is an invaluable member of our team. Max always provides accurate, clear and commercially focused advice and is very responsive. I cannot recommend Max highly enough.

    XPS Pensions Group Zoe Adlam, General Counsel

  • Max has been providing us with legal support for years. He has extensive knowledge across a range of legal areas but also understands the complexities of our niche business. He provides a personal and professional service in a proficient manner. I have no hesitation in highly recommending Windich Legal.

    Bartington Instruments Legal Manager, Bartington Instruments

  • Our arrangement with Windich Legal gives us all the benefits of an in-house lawyer and more, without the commitment to a full-time role which we are not yet ready to make. Max quickly became an accepted, valued and highly respected member of the team. He brings a pragmatic commercially focussed approach, recognising that ultimately both parties in a deal usually want to do business and lawyers should help to facilitate rather than prevent this happening. This means he is solution rather than problem focused.  

    Owen Mumford Gavin Jones, Chief Financial Officer