Patricia Barclay studied law at Edinburgh and Oxford Universities before embarking on a career primarily in life sciences which has taken her all over the world. She held a number of senior positions with Pfizer before becoming General Counsel of Vernalis, a position she subsequently held at the privately held multinational Ferring Group and then at Solvay Pharmaceuticals. She has extensive experience in the negotiation of complex international licensing and cooperation agreements, mergers and acquisitions, investment arrangements, the management of intellectual property, public affairs and the establishment and development of internal services and departments. She is one of only a handful of UK lawyers to have been honoured with a Fellowship of the American Bar Association and is a past chair of the International Bar Association Healthcare and Life Science committee.
Patricia is also an accredited mediator. She is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, Mediators Beyond Borders and of the World Intellectual Property Office mediation panel. She has served as chair of the International Bar Association mediation techniques committee for whom she developed a book of essays. She is listed in Who’s Who of International Commercial Mediation and has won a number of awards including UK Commercial Mediator of the Year.
In 2007 she established Bonaccord, a law firm solely focussed on the commercialisation of scientific innovation. The firm has won multiple awards including several as UK Life Science Law Firm of the Year. Patricia has hands on experience of the pharma, biotech, genetic, medical device, animal health, cosmetic, food & drink, specialty chemical, specialty engineering, electronics and software sectors. The firm aims to be a one stop shop for those seeking to bring new science based ideas to market and will often act in effect as an outsourced General Counsel. Typically the firm will handle corporate set up, fundraising and investment, employment and consultancy contracts, contracts for R&D collaborations and manufacturing and distribution agreements as well as IP audits and strategy, licensing of intellectual property and technology and M&A. Where it is necessary to engage other firms for specialist work or in overseas jurisdictions Bonaccord can help in identifying and managing those other firms and cross border projects involving multiple other advisors.
The firm supports clients all over the world. Bonaccord also provides consultancy services to a number of law firms in life science and intellectual property matters and to universities in technology transfer. Additionally, Patricia has developed a number of courses, primarily in intellectual property, entrepreneurship, mediation and negotiation skills at both practical and academic levels which she teaches regularly for academic and professional institutions. She is an active business mentor.
Patricia has recently been appointed chair of the Medical Advisory Committee to AlgiSys LLC a US algae company in the process of moving to Scotland
She also serves as Legal Counsel to the Funding Partnership which sources both philanthropic and commercial funds for companies working towards the UN sustainable development goals
She is a past President of Cicero, an international association of boutique commercial law firms and has represented industry to government on various IP and regulatory matters and has also served on various industry committees including chairing the legal committee of the National Office for Animal Health and served as principal drafter of the code of marketing practice for the European animal health association
She is active in a number of charities and serves on the board of St Andrews Clinics for Children and as secretary to the Burgess Association of Edinburgh
She has published on a variety of topics and is an acknowledged expert on corporate govenance.
