The Client Profile: Gurdeep Boparai, Coventry Building Society

Posted on |
The Client Profile: Gurdeep Boparai, Coventry Building Society

From the age of 10 I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer. The first lawyer I ever met was a close family friend. She had just qualified and spoke so passionately about the work she was doing, Being in and out of court sounded so exciting, the work was varied and fast paced and I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of. At that time the profession was heavily male dominated and having a strong female role model, and someone to aspire to was so important. I went on to do my research and did lots of work experience from the age of 16 in different firms, from local high street practices to larger national, commercial firms. Whilst I realised it wasn’t all glamorous – I was hooked! As I continued throughout my education, it became clearer that law fit my natural skillset and when I went on to do my LPC, it was the collaborative and problem-solving element of the work that interested me. Continue reading “The Client Profile: Gurdeep Boparai, Coventry Building Society”

The Client Profile: Christian Keim, Adobe

Posted on |
The Client Profile: Christian Keim, Adobe

What inspired you to pursue a career in law, and how did you develop an interest in becoming an in-house lawyer?

There are a lot of different elements that came together. One is that I was always interested in mediating when someone was arguing or helping out if I felt like people were not heard or being treated unfairly. What I realised is that I like to create win-win situations, not someone winning and someone losing, but really finding ways that everyone can benefit from the situation. Continue reading “The Client Profile: Christian Keim, Adobe”

GC Legal Tech Pulse 2024 – in association with Thomson Reuters

Posted on |
GC Legal Tech Pulse 2024 – in association with Thomson Reuters

Tech and AI are at the top of everyone’s agenda right now. Legal Business and Thomson Reuters canvassed the opinions of UK GCs and heads of legal on everything from securing budget, to the tech they want and need to invest in and how to best approach CLM implementation.

Find out how your team compares in our brand new GC Legal Tech Pulse 2024 insight report. You can download the report for free here. Continue reading “GC Legal Tech Pulse 2024 – in association with Thomson Reuters”

The Client Profile: Nigel Paterson, Currys

Posted on |
The Client Profile: Nigel Paterson, Currys

‘I’m an extrovert and I like to get out there. An in-house role is much more team orientated than private practice,’ notes Nigel Paterson, the general counsel (GC) of British electricals retailer Currys, on his decision to go in-house some 25 years ago.

And it soon becomes apparent that, so illustrious has been his career, somehow none of the gravitas is lost through Paterson drinking from his daughter’s Little Miss Naughty mug throughout the interview with LB. Continue reading “The Client Profile: Nigel Paterson, Currys”

The in-house debate: Look to the future now

Posted on |
The in-house debate: Look to the future now

David Halliwell, Pinsent Masons Vario: The world is now seen through a ‘VUCA’ lens – it’s Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. Are the risks that businesses are facing much more uncertain? What does that mean for how you are working in your roles?

John Ventress, Lombard Odier Investment Managers: As in-house lawyers, we need to be aware of the risks faced by our business, but our role is to support the business in navigating the future and helping it to develop, rather than being risk managers. Continue reading “The in-house debate: Look to the future now”

The Client Profile: Lida Khanverdi, EG Group

Posted on |
The Client Profile: Lida Khanverdi, EG Group

Fresh off a train from Blackburn, suitcase in tow, Lida Khanverdi arrives at the interview shortly after closing a new deal for EG Group. Having moved in-house just three years ago, the former Shoosmiths real estate associate is quickly making a name for herself, winning Rising Star In-House Counsel of the Year at the 2023 Legal Business Awards, and helping EG Group through a period of transformative growth.

Despite her rapid ascent, her route in-house has had its fair share of challenges and uncertainties. Khanverdi is not the type to claim she possessed a burning desire to enter the legal profession from an early age. Instead, her decision to study law came about after her family’s plans to emigrate to Canada fell through at the last moment, leaving her with only three weeks to make her university applications in the UK. Flummoxed on what subject to pick, her dad delivered the classic line: ‘Well, why don’t you do law? You can do anything with law.’ Continue reading “The Client Profile: Lida Khanverdi, EG Group”

The Ireland debate: Don’t fear the robots

Posted on |
The Ireland debate: Don’t fear the robots

Nathalie Tidman, Legal Business: Welcome everyone. We have a fantastic panel of extremely talented and insightful people here this evening.

As a starter for ten, what do you see as the real opportunities and benefits for in-house lawyers using generative AI in your day-to-day dealings? Continue reading “The Ireland debate: Don’t fear the robots”

The Client Profile: Alessandro Galtieri, Colt Technology Services

Posted on |
The Client Profile: Alessandro Galtieri, Colt Technology Services

It is fair to say that Colt Technology Services does not look out of place in its trendy environs of Shoreditch, East London. Decorated with the UK’s largest wall mural, which the company commissioned a collection of graffiti and street artists to create, the building comes complete with its own beehive, shortly to produce its first batch of honey. Colt’s deputy general counsel (GC) Alessandro Galtieri, ever the attentive host, proudly shows the artwork off when LB drop by for a chat.

As both his parents studied law, it was perhaps inevitable that Galtieri would pursue a legal career, despite initial attempts to resist: ‘I did try to escape!’ he quips, ‘I wanted to do something else – I was passionate about astrophysics.’ Continue reading “The Client Profile: Alessandro Galtieri, Colt Technology Services”

The in-house debate: Time for a quick Chat(GPT)?

Posted on |
The in-house debate: Time for a quick Chat(GPT)?

Nathalie Tidman, Legal Business: How much access do you have to the board? How intrinsic are you to the decision-making processes of your business?

Aurea Garrido, Warner Bros. Discovery News & Sports: My team sits with the business. For me, a decisive factor was being part of the executive committee, which I have been for three or four years now. I needed to be part of something; not just advising on technical legal issues. Not everyone is as lucky. I know lawyers who have more senior positions than me in the same industry who don’t get access to the exec team or the board. Continue reading “The in-house debate: Time for a quick Chat(GPT)?”

The Client Profile: Sebastian Goldsmith, Medigold Health

Posted on |
The Client Profile: Sebastian Goldsmith, Medigold Health

‘I came into law by accident,’ admits Sebastian Goldsmith, general counsel (GC) of occupational health service provider Medigold Health. ‘I guess it was a second choice. I did Spanish and Portuguese at university, and I was going to work for an investment bank, as I did an internship with HSBC during my year abroad in São Paulo. The plan was to join them or another bank when I graduated. But all intakes were withdrawn, because it was August 2008,’ Goldsmith recalls.

The onset of the global financial crisis created a dilemma: ‘I sat there and thought, what am I going to do now? People always said to me, you should be a lawyer, because I have a strong sense of justice and fairness, and I liked a debate, and I’m quite verbal. So I went to BPP and did law school.’ Continue reading “The Client Profile: Sebastian Goldsmith, Medigold Health”