What do you do at TauRx?
I am Deputy Legal Counsel and assistant Data Protection Officer which means that all things legal or anything vaguely challenging appears at my door!
What does your typical day involve?
There are no typical days in TauRx legal! At the moment, my time is mostly devoted to various corporate and tax matters and liaising with external counsel. However, I could be doing anything from vendor contract reviews (which can range from high value Clinical Research Organisation procurement to manufacturing equipment to fridges for research samples!), negotiating research agreements with collaborating institutions, liaising with sites, protecting and defending TauRx’s intellectual property, assisting in dispute resolution, drafting company policies, advising on employment and data protection issues, or just being a sounding board for any number of niggles that crop up.
What do you think are the most important skills for someone in your role to have?
Four things:
- Ability to zero in on the key issues and weed out red herrings
- Distil often complex legal principles into an accessible format for the people you are advising
- Be a resolver, not a blocker – too many legal departments have a “computer says no” approach to situations outwith their comfort zone
- Be a people person – if you aren’t approachable, people won’t tell you when they’ve broken something!
Do you work mostly on your own or as part of a team?
I would say both. The nature of my work often means long hours spent reviewing agreements, researching and writing advice (queue violin music). I also need to be in the thick of things to ensure I have all the right information and context, asking questions and just remaining curious – so I collaborate with the Legal Counsel, and my colleagues across a wide range of disciplines, from clinical, drug development, regulatory, quality assurance, comms, supply chain and finance.
What do you enjoy most about working at TauRx?
My lovely colleagues of course! They are dedicated to overcoming one of the biggest medical challenges of our time, and it is a pleasure to assist them in trying to reach such a worthy goal of immeasurably improving patients’ and their families’ quality of life. Working at TauRx is never boring, always interesting, and frequently surprising!
