Consultant Legal Counsel
Claire Pattie
Claire is a Fractional General Counsel who specialises in acting as the first in-house lawyer for fast-growth companies – setting up legal functions built to last and designed to scale. For founders and leadership teams navigating the critical transition from ad hoc legal support to a dedicated in-house function, she knows what good looks like, builds it quickly, and ensures it works for the business.
With experience across EMEA and APAC, and spanning edtech, ecommerce, media, property, proptech, healthtech and HRtech, she works alongside leadership teams to align legal strategy with commercial priorities, cut through complexity on new products and business decisions, and focus attention on the risks that matter. She is particularly effective supporting scale-ups targeting enterprise, government or university contracts – combining hands-on bid experience with sound judgement on when to bring in specialist expertise.
She advises on the legal challenges that come with emerging technologies, particularly AI – including supporting the development of high-risk systems and guiding clients through EU AI Act and GDPR compliance. Alongside this, she conducts IP audits for scaling businesses, including IPO-funded engagements, helping founders get clear on what they own, where the risks sit, and how to make their IP work harder as they grow.
Claire has deep experience in legal operations. She overhauls templates to close deals faster, builds self-service tools that reduce legal bottlenecks, and redesigns processes that free up time and budget without increasing risk. She has supported businesses through preparations for fundraising and exits, managed external counsel effectively, and trained cross-functional teams to handle legal matters with greater confidence.
Useful to know:
Claire likes to keep active and enjoys travel and exploring the outdoors – she has completed the 5-day Otter Trail along South Africa’s Garden Route and runs a Safari and Southern African travel business with her husband. She is Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees at The Renewal Programme in East London, having previously trained as a disaster response volunteer. She speaks Spanish and dances the tango.
Worked with:
At LegalEdge, Claire has held a number of Fractional General Counsel roles, including for lab automation start-up Automata and edtech consultancy Etio (part of Tribal plc), and as Interim Head of Legal for data management platform Permutive. She has also provided ongoing legal support to a range of B2B SaaS businesses including Pulsar, a leading global market intelligence platform, and works with a number of independent creative studios, property consultancies and ecommerce clients. Prior to LegalEdge, Claire held senior in-house roles at WeWork (setting up in the UK, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and South Africa), Coursera (where she established the EMEA legal function) and the BBC (BBC Studios and BBC World Service). She trained at Travers Smith, one of the UK's leading independent law firms, qualifying into the Corporate team.What Claire's clients say:
Claire joined the business and pivoted to support in so many areas across the business - a testimony to both her agility and expertise - for each of which she brought commercial understanding, empathy, patience and a sense of humour.
The MSA overhaul Claire supported us with was a game-changer for our commercial process. It’s clearer, easier to negotiate, and will help us to recognise revenue faster. I highly recommend investing in an MSA health check to streamline negotiations and have a professional, slick template that works across the business.
Not only does Claire provide pragmatic legal advice, but she has also helped us redesign our legal processes and controls. This means that we've been able to reduce the amount of legal support we need by 20%, saving money as well as delivering a better and more efficient service to the business. We have also had some unusual business situations over the last 12 months which Claire has helped us through; she is quick to find a solution whether it's a topic in her wheelhouse or not. Her support is really valued.
