Glossary

An essential for the industry that loves an acronym or two.

  • Collaborative relationship between the legal team and business units to help achieve commercial objectives.

  • Used interchangeably with General Counsel (see below)  as a role title for the most senior lawyer in the organisation.

  • Systems or processes for managing the lifecycle of contracts from drafting to termination.

  • Refers to legal matters involving disputes/claims or the risk of them, including litigation, arbitration or regulatory investigations.

    In-house lawyers typically manage these by liaising with external counsel and advising on strategy and settlement.

  • Officer responsible for governance, compliance filings, board support, and statutory duties. Can also be used to refer to the relative group of tasks involved.

  • Role focused on drafting, negotiating, and managing contracts. Often not a qualified solicitor, but will support the Legal team.

  • Internal policies, technical measures and legal procedures a company puts in place to comply with laws applicable to personal data such as the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

  • Process of resolving legal disputes, including litigation, arbitration, or internal investigations.

  • Process of assessing legal, financial, and commercial risks, especially in transactions.

  • Stands for Environmental, Social, Governance. An increasingly important area involving legal compliance with sustainability, social impact and governance standards/best practice.

  • Usually compiled of the most senior representatives from each business unit below the Board, reporting to the CEO. Responsible for company strategy and operations, with the Chief Legal Officer/GC usually the Legal representative. Often referred to as ExCo or ExCom.

  • Independent law firms hired by in-house legal teams for advice, representation or specialist expertise.

  • The most senior in-house lawyer, responsible for the company/Group’s legal function

  • Refers to a whole organisational structure from parent companies to its subsidiaries. In-house legal teams often manage legal risk, compliance and governance across the entire group structure (or parts of it), not just a single entity.

  • A senior legal role, often involving direct reports. May be equivalent to General Counsel in smaller organisations.

  • Legal rights of the organisation related to creative works and inventions, such as trademarks, patents and copyrights.

  • Usually the term used for an NQ in-house. General legal role advising on a variety of legal and business issues.

  • Systems, processes and activities that enable Legal to deliver services efficiently. Encompass areas such as financial management, vendor management, technology adoption, knowledge management, data analytics and workflow optimisation to support the legal team’s goals. 

    Some in-house legal teams have their own Legal Ops departments.

  • Technology solutions designed to assist legal functions, e.g. e-signatures, document automation, matter tracking etc.

  • Formal legal proceedings conducted through the court process to resolve legal disputes

  • Framework contract that sets out standard terms for ongoing service relationships.

  • Contract governing when confidential information shared between parties can and cannot be shared with others.

  • Law firms selected as preferred external advisors, often under fixed terms or agreed fee structures.

  • The SRA’s term for a training contract.

  • Version of a document showing tracked changes, typically used during contract negotiations.

  • The level of risk an organisation is willing to accept in pursuit of its goals.

  • The process of identifying, assessing and mitigating risks to the organisation, including those that are legal, regulatory, financial or reputational.

  • A part of a contract that defines service expectations, performance metrics and any associated remedies for breach.

  • Individuals or groups affected by or involved in a company’s legal or business decisions.