Michael Corcoran joined Hill Dickinson in 2017 and is a partner in our Corporate team, based in London. Here, we put him under the spotlight to learn more about his work with Life Sciences clients and the things that drive and inspire him outside of work.

Tell us a little about the work you do to support life sciences clients

I qualified as a lawyer in 2005 (I know, hard to believe I’m not much younger!) after studying law at the University of Birmingham and am part of Hill Dickinson’s Corporate team. I work primarily with high growth private companies and small-cap listed companies in various sectors, including life-sciences, and it’s a fast-moving and exciting sector to work in.

Why life sciences in particular?

Innovation in life sciences touches all our lives and it’s impossible not to be drawn in, not least due to the entrepreneurial nature and sheer energy of the clients I get to work with. Many of the people who first instructed me as clients have also become good friends.

In particular, I’ve been focused for a number of years now on the subject of cellular and plant-based agriculture; on the growth and investment opportunities for business and – taking a global view – on the very real need to create alternative food sources in order to feed a growing worldwide population. Make no mistake, cellular agriculture and alternative proteins are the future.

Another area is healthy ageing. As a species, we’re living longer but with it comes an increasingly heavy burden on our health services. The holy grail is to not only to extend life but to improve quality of life well into older age. Demand is increasing exponentially year on year and companies investing in that space are already benefiting hugely.

Highlight of your career so far?

Hmm. Too many to mention! I suppose I get the most joy from some of the smaller deals I have done rather than larger transactions, which can become very complex (…and sometimes leave me contemplating my life in general and wondering whether I should go and live on a remote beach without any email or phones. Luckily, that feeling doesn’t last and then it’s on to the next deal).

Working to secure early funding for entrepreneurs, scientists in the lab, or geologists in the field, the bit that gives life to an idea, the excitement and happiness of the founder, the optimism everybody feels that “this is going to be big”. I like that moment. As companies mature, some of that excitement usually gets lost along the way and there’s more pressure to try and get everything done yesterday. 

So my highlights are any start-up that raised some venture capital and is now a public company worth >£100 million (or has achieved some other exit along the way). And the good news is that I’ve had lots of highlights like that and there’ll be more to come.

Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“You don’t get paid if the deal doesn’t close.”  The advice is not 100% true (!) but ultimately lawyers are paid to get deals over the line, not to find a hundred reasons why they should not proceed. Finding a way, being creative, getting things done, that’s what pays the bills (and keeps clients happy!).

…and the worst?
After nine months of unsuccessfully trying to get the first public medical cannabis deal away in 2017 (Seed Innovations (formerly FastForward Innovations) investment in Nuuvera Inc.), and although we ended up working on it at a loss we did eventually get the investment over the line and saw it quite quickly achieve a fivefold return. What was ultimately very satisfying was that the work we did for that deal (with a number of brilliant barristers) opened the door for other cannabis companies in the UK to raise capital and other law firms to advise on the sector. So it worked out very well in the end. Since 2017 we‘ve advised on some of the biggest cannabis deals in Europe and are now regarded as one of the leading law firms in the cannabis space. 

Song that always gets you on the dancefloor?

It’s not really songs that get me on the dancefloor, it all depends on how much I’ve had to drink! I am not a willing sober dancer, never have been. But, if I’ve had a couple of drinks, anything by Pulp will get me up and dancing and singing along.