Property developer British Land has hired HSBC deputy company secretary and former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Elaine Williams as its first general counsel.
Williams will start as general counsel and company secretary at the FTSE 100 company from 16 November, moving from HSBC which she joined in 2011.
She will be the first general counsel at British Land, whose legal department was believed to have been managed by finance director Lucinda Bell.
A partner at Freshfields between 2000 and 2010, Williams had specialised in mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures and provision of general corporate and commercial advice, and acted for Kingfisher on the sale of seven B&Q warehouse stores to British Land.
Williams joined Freshfields from Norton Rose in 1995.
victoria.young@legalease.co.uk
