Finalists: Jaguar Land Rover.

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics picked up the legal department of the year award as it guided the company through its complex carveout from former parent Johnson & Johnson.

With a team comprising eight lawyers across the globe, the in-house legal and compliance department says it aims to facilitate the company's business objectives in a legally and ethically compliant manner, while endeavouring to provide effective risk management solutions rather than simply saying 'no'.

The carveout from Johnson & Johnson involved a number of challenges for the in-house team as Ortho sought to establish itself as an independent company, such as liaising with regulatory bodies and complying with laws across multiple jurisdictions (in Brazil, for instance, that meant setting up a new legal entity and registering about 130 products with the Brazilian FDA). Meantime, the team had to contend with the usual day-to-day in-house legal workflow, such as contract negotiation and preparing for new regulation (such as GDPR).

"Ortho's legal and compliance department is the best I have worked with. The perspectives of this team are highly regarded across the organisation – and our outcomes are better thanks to them," said Kristie Bouryal, chief brand and communications officer at Ortho.

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