Waterkant Legal provides integrated legal advisory services for Founders and Life Sciences and Healthcare Organisations operating in regulated environments. The practice combines legal, regulatory and commercial perspectives with a particular focus on intellectual property in regulated product development to support organisations throughout their development – from early structuring to growth, market entry and post-approval operations.

Rather than offering isolated legal solutions, Waterkant Legal focuses on building robust frameworks and providing ongoing strategic counsel that reflect how regulated businesses actually operate and how IP, regulatory pathways and commercial decisions interact in practice.

Waterkant Legal advises on the design and implementation of legal frameworks that align Intellectual Property strategy, Regulatory requirements and Commercial Operations as interdependent components of regulated business models.

These frameworks provide a clear, scalable and compliant foundation for recurring R&D, collaboration and operational activities and ensure that IP decisions are made in light of regulatory constraints and commercial objectives and are tailored to the specific realities of pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device businesses.

Depending on the stage and structure of the organisation, advisory work includes in particular:

• guidance on choosing and implementing an appropriate corporate and operational structure
• legal support for incorporation and early-stage structuring, taking into account sector-specific and regulatory requirements and their impact on IP positioning
• development of internal governance frameworks, including shareholder or founder arrangements, employment and contractor structures, confidentiality and incentive schemes
• establishment of reusable contractual frameworks for collaborations, research activities and commercial relationships with a focus on IP allocation, access and risk management
• alignment of contractual structures with regulatory obligations and long-term commercial objectives

The aim is to enable organisations to operate efficiently, manage regulatory and contractual risk and scale their activities without friction at later stages of development.

As organisations grow and legal complexity increases, Waterkant Legal acts as external, on-demand corporate counsel, providing senior-level legal support that integrates seamlessly with internal teams.

This model is designed for life sciences and healthcare organisations that require continuous legal input but do not wish to expand permanent in-house resources or coordinate multiple external advisors.

On-Demand Corporate Counsel Services typically include:

• ongoing advice on corporate governance, internal decision-making processes and board or shareholder matters
• support on regulatory compliance and legal risk management in regulated environments
• drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial, licensing, research and supply-related agreements
• legal support for strategic partnerships, collaborations and alliances
• assistance with fundraising and investment processes, including equity or debt financings and grant-related agreements
• legal coordination and support in the context of M&A transactions, restructurings or other strategic transformations, in collaboration with external advisors where required

The On-Demand Corporate Counsel approach ensures continuity, pragmatic decision-making and strategic oversight, particularly in phases of rapid growth, transformation or increased regulatory scrutiny.

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