Marcus Andreen
Commercial and tech lawyer
Solicitor with more than 25 years’ experience working with startups, early stage ventures and established businesses in the technology, communications and e-commerce sectors
Who I am
With a background working for City law firms and in-house, I now provide legal support and advice to start-ups, SMEs and established businesses in the technology, communications and e-commerce sectors.
My clients are for the most part dynamic, innovative business, often developing new technologies and requiring inventive legal solutions. Since 2005 eight clients have been listed in the TechTrack 100.
When required I take a pragmatic approach. And I understand that clients not only need to get the legals right, but that contracts need to get signed in a sensible timeframe and at a reasonable cost.
What I do
What my clients say
... makes sure that the client’s commercial interests are protected as fully as possible...
... reliable and responsive…. a cost-effective alternative to using one of the large commercial firms...
... great help in ensuring that our legal work is completed in a timely, efficient and commercial manner...
... responsive, pragmatic, and delivery focused...
My background
When I set up on my own in 2004 my aim was to cut out the overheads associated with operating a traditional law firm and to provide a cost-effective, outsourced, in-house counsel type service. At the time the reaction from contacts and friends was at best sceptical, but the recent proliferation of virtual law firms and legal consultants suggests that clients like dealing directly with the lawyer who will actually be doing their work rather than ending up with a junior associate once the instruction has been confirmed.
Prior to setting up on my own I worked as General Counsel and Company Secretary for Eyretel plc, a supplier of digital voice
recording solutions, acquired by Witness Systems and now part of NICE (2000 – 2003).
Before joining Eyretel I was Commercial and Legal Director at Mobile Systems International Limited (MSI), a mobile network software vendor (1998 –2000); and before MSI my first in-house job was as Legal & Commercial Manager at Synon, an application development software vendor (1996 – 1998).
Going further back, I trained at Ashurst, qualifying in 1992, and then worked as a private practice company/commercial solicitor before going in-house.
Updates Archive
Legal know-how for business: “subject to contract”
The phrase “subject to contract” is (or should be) used when you are negotiating but do not want any legal consequences – typically the formation of a binding contract – to result from your communications.
Read more »Ex-employees and the LinkedIn problem
LinkedIn and other social media platforms are presenting ever-greater challenges for employers trying to deal with the risks of departing key employees.
Read more »