Interim Deputy Head of Legal – London
12 months FTC from October 2026 - Flexible working
£Market
We are looking for an experienced lawyer to support one of our clients. They are a well-known international business with an established in-house legal team. This is an opportunity to exercise your skills in a leading international business with a high quality and interesting workload. The assignment we need you for is likely to last for at least 12 months.
A degree of flexibility and some remote working is anticipated in this role which will commence in October 2026.
To be successful you will need the following skills and attributes:
- You must be a qualified lawyer in the UK or another comparable jurisdiction.
- You will have in-house experience at a senior level including significant management experience of in-house legal teams. We are looking for someone with the presence and communication skills to manage both internal and external stakeholders at the most senior levels.
- A strong technical legal background is a given and this is likely to have been gained with a leading practice, as well as in-house.
- As you will be supporting the Head of Legal on a broad range of strategic matters we will be looking for evidence of your experience and ability to do exactly that.
- The legal team is in the process of reviewing its legal operations capability. You will be expected to take a lead on this, and an in-depth understanding of and exposure to legal operations is important.
- You will need to have a good understanding of and exposure to a wide range of commercial contracts.
- Importantly, you will need to be a good fit; so as well as being charismatic and personable, you will also be highly motivated, client focused and will have a demonstrably commercial approach with plenty of initiative.
You will be a senior member of our client’s in-house legal team, working closely with stakeholders at all levels across the business. You will be expected to deliver commercially successful outcomes which reflect the risk appetite of the business, while operating with a high degree of autonomy. Where specialist legal support is required you will need to manage the client’s external law firms.
We are keen to identify the right person and get them in place as soon as possible. So if this resonates with you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
If you would like to know more, please send your CV in confidence to Nick Benson at nbenson@ortolan.com.