Carol Copland

Expertise Carol Advises Experience Highlights Career History Testimonials

Partner

Commercial Contracts

+44 (0) 7810 378 193

Expertise

Carol is a commercial lawyer with a wide range of experience working within businesses. This enables her to have a full understanding of her clients’ requirements on a wider scale.

Carol previously worked for Metaswitch Networks Ltd, where she served on the Executive Committee. Her responsibility was for the global legal function, data protection, anti-bribery and the patents portfolio. Prior to this, she worked for The Qualification and Curriculum Authority where she had specific Executive responsibility for legal; corporate governance; secretariat to the QCA Board and Executive; risk management and corporate performance; equalities; freedom of information and data protection; and the Examinations and Appeals Board.  She started her career in the Technology Media and Telecoms team at Linklaters, where she trained and worked for several years.

Her recent work has included: various international acquisitions and disposals; negotiating international commercial contracts (supplier and customer); advising on software and other IP licensing issues; managing efficiency savings and a global redundancy programme to streamline the business and improve profitability; various patents litigations; and, establishing a global patent programme.

Carol Advises

  • Companies (start-ups to multinational PLCs)
  • Technology businesses
  • Education sector
  • Arts/heritage sector
  • Government
  • Management Teams and business leaders
  • Private equity and venture capital

Experience Highlights

  • As General Counsel for Metaswitch Networks (private equity backed network software provider):  negotiated key international commercial contracts (supplier and customer) involving complex software and cloud based technologies; legal lead on three international acquisitions and one disposal; responsible for IP matters and established the global patent programme increasing the filed patents from 10 to over 180; and, led and successfully concluded litigation against the company’s insurers.
  • Lead the negotiation and termination of customer’s contract with its supplier and secured the settlement of approx. £25 million in favour of customer.
  • Revised company’s legal and governance policies and procedures in preparation for initial public offering.
  • Represented QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) at a high level with the UK government education department (Department for Children Schools and Families), including with the Schools Minister, at a time of acute political sensitivity; was the key legal advocate for QCA in Whitehall.
  • Legal lead on the separation of the regulatory function of QCA and creation of the interim regulator (Ofqual) and delivery body (QCDA) within a complex legislative framework.
  • Led legal negotiations on a £14m contractual dispute with a key supplier and achieved out of court settlement of £4m and secured delivery of the 2007 test cycle.
  • Advised on IP and technology legal matters for JPMorgan EMEA and responsible for managing a multi-jurisdictional team of over twenty lawyers providing the legal and regulatory advice on the outsourcing and off-shoring of JPMorgan’s back office IT systems to three strategic global hubs.
  • Advised and negotiated the IP and IT aspects of a variety of domestic and international transactions including in relation to the acquisition of an asset administration business by a major European bank (£250m multi-jurisdictional deal including transitional services arrangements).
  • IT, IP and general television work including general systems and software supply and maintenance, licensing and distribution agreements, software licences, content and programme production agreements.
  • Advising on the protection and exploitation of IPR including drafting licences, assignments, and confidentiality agreements.
  • Advising the BBC on its commercial arrangements with Consignia and WPP for the collection of the TV licence revenue and associated advertising campaigns.

Career History

Previous Law Firms

  • Metaswitch Networks Ltd, Chief Legal Officer
  • Metaswitch Networks AS, Director
  • Legal and Corporate Affairs, QCA, Director
  • Finance Division, QCA, Head of Legal and Procurement,
  • Institute of Educational Assessors, Company Secretary
  • English Heritage, General Commercial Lawyer
  • Linklaters, Associate, Technology media Telecoms Group,

Other Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
  • Member of the Equalities Advisory Group for Dept. of BIS
  • Member of the Diversity Leadership Sub-group for the Royal Academy of Engineering (until April 2016)

Education

  • College of Law Guilford (LPC)
  • St Peter’s College, Oxford

Expertise

Back to top

Carol is a commercial lawyer with a wide range of experience working within businesses. This enables her to have a full understanding of her clients’ requirements on a wider scale.

Carol previously worked for Metaswitch Networks Ltd, where she served on the Executive Committee. Her responsibility was for the global legal function, data protection, anti-bribery and the patents portfolio. Prior to this, she worked for The Qualification and Curriculum Authority where she had specific Executive responsibility for legal; corporate governance; secretariat to the QCA Board and Executive; risk management and corporate performance; equalities; freedom of information and data protection; and the Examinations and Appeals Board.  She started her career in the Technology Media and Telecoms team at Linklaters, where she trained and worked for several years.

Her recent work has included: various international acquisitions and disposals; negotiating international commercial contracts (supplier and customer); advising on software and other IP licensing issues; managing efficiency savings and a global redundancy programme to streamline the business and improve profitability; various patents litigations; and, establishing a global patent programme.

Carol Advises

Back to top
  • Companies (start-ups to multinational PLCs)
  • Technology businesses
  • Education sector
  • Arts/heritage sector
  • Government
  • Management Teams and business leaders
  • Private equity and venture capital

Experience Highlights

Back to top
  • As General Counsel for Metaswitch Networks (private equity backed network software provider):  negotiated key international commercial contracts (supplier and customer) involving complex software and cloud based technologies; legal lead on three international acquisitions and one disposal; responsible for IP matters and established the global patent programme increasing the filed patents from 10 to over 180; and, led and successfully concluded litigation against the company’s insurers.
  • Lead the negotiation and termination of customer’s contract with its supplier and secured the settlement of approx. £25 million in favour of customer.
  • Revised company’s legal and governance policies and procedures in preparation for initial public offering.
  • Represented QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) at a high level with the UK government education department (Department for Children Schools and Families), including with the Schools Minister, at a time of acute political sensitivity; was the key legal advocate for QCA in Whitehall.
  • Legal lead on the separation of the regulatory function of QCA and creation of the interim regulator (Ofqual) and delivery body (QCDA) within a complex legislative framework.
  • Led legal negotiations on a £14m contractual dispute with a key supplier and achieved out of court settlement of £4m and secured delivery of the 2007 test cycle.
  • Advised on IP and technology legal matters for JPMorgan EMEA and responsible for managing a multi-jurisdictional team of over twenty lawyers providing the legal and regulatory advice on the outsourcing and off-shoring of JPMorgan’s back office IT systems to three strategic global hubs.
  • Advised and negotiated the IP and IT aspects of a variety of domestic and international transactions including in relation to the acquisition of an asset administration business by a major European bank (£250m multi-jurisdictional deal including transitional services arrangements).
  • IT, IP and general television work including general systems and software supply and maintenance, licensing and distribution agreements, software licences, content and programme production agreements.
  • Advising on the protection and exploitation of IPR including drafting licences, assignments, and confidentiality agreements.
  • Advising the BBC on its commercial arrangements with Consignia and WPP for the collection of the TV licence revenue and associated advertising campaigns.

Career History

Back to top

Previous Law Firms

  • Metaswitch Networks Ltd, Chief Legal Officer
  • Metaswitch Networks AS, Director
  • Legal and Corporate Affairs, QCA, Director
  • Finance Division, QCA, Head of Legal and Procurement,
  • Institute of Educational Assessors, Company Secretary
  • English Heritage, General Commercial Lawyer
  • Linklaters, Associate, Technology media Telecoms Group,

Other Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
  • Member of the Equalities Advisory Group for Dept. of BIS
  • Member of the Diversity Leadership Sub-group for the Royal Academy of Engineering (until April 2016)

Education

  • College of Law Guilford (LPC)
  • St Peter’s College, Oxford
Testimonials