Counsel - Digital, IP and Technology

BP p.l.c.; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job description

• Travel required: Up to 10% travel should be expected with this role.
• Job category: Legal Group
• Relocation available: This role is not eligible for relocation.

Our purpose is to deliver energy to the world, today and tomorrow. As an integrated energy company, we are one of only a few that can deliver energy at global scale through a decades-long energy transition. Our plan is to grow our upstream oil and gas business and focus the downstream whilst investing in the energy transition. This is all underpinned by embracing and developing distinctive capabilities in new technologies.

We are looking for a versatile full-time lawyer to join the Digital, IP and Technology legal team to help bp innovate and deliver the technology it needs to invest in today’s energy system and build the energy system of tomorrow.

We are a dynamic and collaborative team of specialist lawyers and patent attorneys supporting bp’s Technology function, the home of bp’s science, engineering and digital capabilities, and providing specialist IP and technology legal advice across all of bp’s global businesses.

The team advises on high value and business critical IP and IT transactions, strategic partnerships with technology providers and research institutions, new digital products and physical technologies, research and development activity, technology acquisitions, venturing and technology exploitation. The team is also responsible for managing bp’s patent portfolio and managing any IP and technology related disputes.

The successful candidate will primarily focus on digital technology and IP transactional and advisory matters. You will provide advice on matters around the world involving bp’s businesses, assets and digital and physical technology.

Key Accountabilities:

• Providing lead support to the Technology function on a variety of legal issues.
• Supporting technology and IP related transactions including both license agreements for physical and digital technologies, agreements relating to IT infrastructure and cloud data, agreements relating to field trials and feasibility studies, consortium agreements, research agreements and joint development agreements.
• Working collaboratively with business facing commercial lawyers to provide specialist advice on IP and technology issues associated with strategic procurement contracts, joint ventures and M&A transactions.
• Advising developers and technologists on the legal risks associated with new technology products.
• Advising on the legal risks associated with emerging technologies and the impact of evolving regulations on bp’s business activities.
• Interpretation of contracts relating to technology and IP and resolving disputes.
• Creating and delivering training for the legal function and business collaborators on IP and technology related legal issues.

Role Requirements:

• Significant experience of supporting IP and technology related transactions.
• Significant experience of providing IP advice and legal support to teams involved in the development, procurement, scale-up and deployment of new technology.
• Strong interpersonal, collaboration and communication skills, an ability to act as a trusted adviser to business collaborators.
• Proven record of sound judgment, commercial awareness, and delivering pragmatic legal solutions that deliver business strategy; ability to influence others and to anticipate and respond to different viewpoints.
• Agile with a demonstrated ability to adapt to a rapidly evolving environment and legal landscape.

Desirable criteria:

• Prior in-house legal experience.
• Some experience of overseeing IP/Technology related disputes.

Essential Education:

Qualified Solicitor or Barrister.

Additional Information:

We operate a hybrid working policy and all employees are expected to work from a bp office a minimum of 3 days per week.

The successful candidate will primarily be based at bp’s offices in either Sunbury-on-Thames or Canary Wharf. In either case, the successful candidate will be expected to travel to bp’s other offices in London as the role requires.

Why join us?

At bp, we provide an excellent working environment and employee benefits such as an open and inclusive culture, a great work-life balance, tremendous learning and development opportunities to craft your career path, life and health insurance, medical care package and many others!

We support our people to learn and grow in a diverse and exciting environment. We believe that our team is strengthened by diversity. We are committed to crafting an inclusive environment in which everyone is respected and treated fairly.

There are many aspects of our employees’ lives that are significant, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits can include flexible working options, collaboration spaces in a modern office environment, and others benefits.

Reinvent your career as you help our business meet the challenges of the future. Apply now!