Paul is a Partner in our Commercial team and is Head of VWV's Pharmaceuticals & life Sciences sector.
Paul has expertise in commercial contracts with focus on business to business, and business to consumer, as well as intellectual property, IT, and online advice.
Specific areas of expertise within this include:
- agreements and terms & conditions for the supply of goods, services or IT (whether B2B or B2C and whether offline or online)
- agreements and terms & conditions for the purchase of goods, services or IT (whether B2B or B2C and whether offline or online)
- manufacturing, warehousing and facilities agreements
- distribution, reseller, agency, introducer and franchise agreements
- intellectual property assignments and licenses
- brand, copyright and general intellectual property advice
- IT, licensing, software as a service, managed service, hosting and support & maintenance agreements
- product, IT and web development agreements
- confidentiality and collaboration agreements
- data protection and freedom of information issues
- advertising, marketing and promotions law
- online agreements, including marketplace agreements, website terms and conditions, cookies & privacies policies, terms of use and linking agreements
- general advice on commercial dealings and day to day business situations
Paul runs the thriving networking group, PING (the Pharmaceutical Industry Network Group). PING is host to an annual conference for people across the pharma ecosystem, with recent leading speakers having included NHS England, NICE, MHRA, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Genomics England, Pfizer, GSK, BenevolentAI, health-equity.AI, MedCity, Our Future Health and many others.
Paul loves developing long-term relationships with his clients, being seen as an extension of their business, to add value and help with growing revenue and managing risk, rather than just giving abstract legal advice on a one-off job. He is passionate about helping to develop the next generation of legal talent and investing in their training. What he is most proud of is PING and the difference they have made through their other initiatives in the Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences sector - helping to connect and introduce people and help them to learn and grow, in turn helping not only them but also society.
Some of Paul's notable work has included:
- Supporting a mid-sized pharmaceuticals client with updating their distribution agreement and co-ordinating the input from various stakeholders in a tight timeframe, with the agreements worth many millions of pounds.
- Drafting a set of agreements in a complex scenario for a client importing pharmaceutical products into the UK for suppliers and purchasers.
- Advising a service provider client on managing the balance of risk when using AI in providing a service requested by their clients, when the provenance of the IP was not clear.
Paul is primarily based in our Watford and London offices, but can support you nationally.
Paul is one of the new breed of legal professionals who genuinely invests time and energy into establishing and nurturing relationships for the long term, and connecting like-minded people.
What others say
"I have worked with Paul Gershlick and VWV on multiple technology innovation projects requiring legal expertise. Paul is exceptionally knowledgeable in contract law, data protection, and complex IT terms. He excels at understanding the business context, offering valuable insights and recommendations that spark new ideas. Paul is professional, trustworthy, and transparent about what can be achieved and the timeline involved, with excellent support from the VWV team. His friendly manner makes him a pleasure to work with, quite unique in approach and style and I highly recommend Paul and VWV." - Iain O'Neill, Head of Innovation, Tech and Transformation, at Corona Energy.
"I can certainly vouch for the work you have done for UCISA and I have been impressed by the pragmatic approach that you take, the speed of service and the fact that you ALWAYS ensure there is cover when you do take leave, so no matter is ever left unattended." - Deborah Green, CEO at UCISA
What you might like to know
In 2013, Paul received an honorary Masters degree from the University of Hertfordshire for his 'contribution to the development of commercial law in the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences industry'.
Aside from leading PING and LILAC (the Life sciences In-house Legal Advisers Club), Paul is a member of the Hertfordshire Futures (formerly Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership) Life Sciences Strategy Panel, and is an active member of the Ethical Medicines Industry Group (EMIG) including co-chairing the EMIG Compliance Special Interest Group. Paul is also a member of the Society for Computers and Law.
He has appeared several times on BBC Three Counties Radio including on a business panel slot, and has written articles on legal and sector points of interest in various journals including the Society for Computers and Law.
Outside of work, Paul is an Ambassador of Electric Umbrella, a musical charity for learning disabled, and volunteer weekly to help with their phenomenal "Big Yellow Choir". He also volunteers at his synagogue in various ways including singing and co-ordinating their choir.
He enjoys playing tennis and watching sport, playing piano, and has taken his family to care homes to entertain residents, and has composed some music - including submitting an entry for the Song for Europe Contest and for his wedding.
Other teams Paul works with
Paul works with several teams, including corporate support on deals, and working closely with the employment team when there are issues around TUPE in outsourcing deals, or when there are agreements with self-employed contractors. The Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences sector also work closely with Technology, Healthcare, Higher Education and Charities teams.
