Milena is a commercial and corporate lawyer with 15 years’ experience representing businesses of all sizes and high-net-worth individuals on a wide range of commercial and corporate transactions ranging from collaboration, sponsorship and IP licence agreements to joint ventures and share and asset purchase agreements.
She has particular expertise in the higher education sector, having led the legal team at one of the world’s top ten universities, and is uniquely placed to advise on the variety of transactions universities engage in and on the challenges they face in an environment that is highly competitive and becoming more and more heavily regulated.
Milena also works with life sciences and biotech clients on collaboration and services agreements, consultancy agreements and MTAs.
Expertise
Commercial
- Commercial contracts including supply agreements, academic collaboration agreements, service agreements with private counterparties and with government bodies, consultancy agreements, philanthropic agreements, sponsorship agreements, material transfer agreements
- Protection and exploitation of IP rights and technology in the higher education sector and in the life sciences sector
- Terms and conditions of service with particular specialism in the higher education sector
- Confidentiality, exclusivity agreements and memoranda of understanding
- Advising on compliance challenges in the higher education sector such as in the areas of data protection, national security, equality law and consumer protection
Corporate
- Joint ventures (corporate and contractual)
- Asset acquisitions and disposals including transfers of businesses as a going concern and also transfers of ad hoc assets such as IP and equipment
- Private mergers and acquisitions and investments in private companies
- Shareholders’ agreements and investment agreements
- Management buy-outs and buy-ins
- Corporate reorganisations and restructurings
- Transactional due diligence
Experience
- Advised Imperial College London (a Royal Charter corporation and an exempt charity):
- on various joint ventures and shareholder matters such as an investment in, and subsequent exit from, a digital media company that offers education content to schools, setting up and investing in a company to create new business innovation space in West London, disposal of shares in a joint venture company engaged in the provision of imaging services and membership in a company dedicated to vaccines manufacturing and innovation as part of the UK’s national scientific infrastructure
- on the bringing of IP commercialisation activities in-house (previously contracted out)
- on framework collaboration agreements with public research counterparties and other universities and joint working agreements with public bodies
- on the transfer of a research group to the College from another HEI structured as an asset acquisition
- on its GDPR-readiness programme
- on its Brexit preparations
- on commercial contracts including supply agreements, academic collaboration agreements, service agreements with private counterparties and with government bodies, consultancy agreements, philanthropic agreements, sponsorship agreements, material transfer agreements
- on protection and exploitation of IP rights and technology in the higher education sector and in the life sciences sector
- on terms and conditions of service with particular specialism in the higher education sector
- on confidentiality, exclusivity agreements and memoranda of understanding
- on compliance challenges in the higher education sector such as in the areas of data protection, national security, equality law and consumer protection.
- Advising a client looking to develop therapies for the treatment of disease on the acquisition of a portfolio of patents, commercialisation terms and licensing out the IP for certain purposes
- Assisting a life sciences company with various master services agreements with commercial research organisations, consultancy agreements and NDAs
- Assisting a life sciences company in its work on development and commercialisation of certain drug candidates including (among others) with various services and consultancy agreements and MTAs with international counterparties.
- Assisting a bio tech company on R&D collaborations in relation to digital health and care solutions
- Assisting a charity with its participation terms as one of the founding members of a high-profile vaccination centre and its participation in a multiparty health science collaboration
- Advised various clients on corporate group restructurings, share issuances, capital reductions and winding up of companies.
- Advised a major US institution in relation to a joint venture for the acquisition and development of outlet malls across China.
- Advised an international marketing communication network on the acquisition of a medical and scientific communications business.
- Advised a venture capital firm on investing in a joint venture providing micro financial services to consumers.
- Advised an alternative investment products manager on the acquisition of a controlling stake in a company providing oil field services.
- Assisted AIM-listed companies on the acquisition and disposal of various commercial real estate assets in Eastern Europe.
- Assisted clients with corporate and commercial due diligence including, by way of examples, in the context of the acquisition of the business of a provider of HR assessment solutions and the proposed acquisition of a telecommunications business.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Career
Milena qualified as a solicitor in 2006. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2021, she worked at the following firms:
- Imperial College London
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- Baker & McKenzie LLP (Hong Kong)
- Macfarlanes LLP
- Ashurst LLP