20 Dec REFLECTIONS ON TWO YEARS AT ORTHO CONSULTING GROUP (OCG) WITH KATHERINE CUNNINGHAM

Katherine Cunningham joined Ortho Consulting Group at the end of 2019 as General Counsel and leads the team responsible for all legal matters relating to company and client projects.

Katherine qualified as a solicitor in 2012, specialising in corporate finance and spent the following seven years working in private practice, advising clients internationally on M&A, PE and VC transactions across a variety of sectors.

We spoke to Katherine to find out how her role had evolved over the past two years.

What is the most enjoyable element of your job? 

“The diversity of the role. Whether it’s reporting to the board, negotiating a distribution contract or advising a client on the structure of an investment proposal, no two days are the same. I find solving legal and commercial challenges across such a spectrum of workflows and stakeholders hugely rewarding.”

How has your role changed since you started? 

“I joined OCG at the end of 2019, and my first two years have therefore been heavily impacted by Covid from the outset and its accompanying challenges.

“Despite this, the legal team has grown, with Luize Kangethe, Contract Assistant, joining this year bringing additional expertise, and it has been exciting to have another contract specialist on board.

“OCG’s M&A and investment practice has also launched in this time, and it has been fantastic to draw on my corporate law background and apply it to our client projects.”

What project are you most excited about at the moment? 

“We are in the process of advising a client on an ambitious international expansion strategy. Within the legal team, we are drafting, negotiating and executing the client’s distribution contracts, and it is exciting to be working alongside the client on their global strategy.”

What excites you most about the industry at the moment?

“The incoming UKCA and MDR are creating a state of flux both in the UK and Europe, so that brings with it plenty of legal and regulatory conundrums for me to get my teeth into! There is also a lot of exciting M&A activity happening across the industry which I am enjoying witnessing and playing a role in.”