Jonathan Watmough – RPC

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Jonathan Watmough, Managing Partner, RPC

Increasingly I realise just how easy some of us in private practice have it compared to general counsel (GC) and in-house lawyers.

Law firms and their lawyers are inclined to be change resistant. Professional experience has conditioned them to be sensitised to the potential downsides arising from a course of action in preference to embracing the likely upsides. And even when they do accept that change is inevitable, often it’s a painfully slow process to effect – it’s hard enough to halt the progress of a supertanker, let alone change its course.

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The Legal Business GC Power List 2013

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Welcome to our inaugural GC Power List: a collection of 100 of the most interesting and influential in-house lawyers in business today.

This report provides a snapshot of some of the most powerful legal advisers to companies across ten key business sectors. In compiling this report, we spoke to an array of leading law firms that specialise in each industry sector and canvassed the opinion of hundreds of partners. We have not ranked individuals in order of preference, or provided subjective views on ability, but simply identify ten lawyers in each sector that every private practice lawyer should know.

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Paul Jenkins QC – The Treasury Solicitor’s Department

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Paul Jenkins QC

Her Majesty’s Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor

The Treasury Solicitor’s Department

 

Much of The Treasury Solicitor’s Department’s work consists of highly specialised public law, legislative work and providing advice to ministers. Most of this is done within its huge in-house team of 1,000 individuals, including 800 lawyers. However Paul Jenkins QC, one of the most high-profile lawyers in the country, does use a wide range of external law firms for other work, from claims handling of personal injury through to major commercial projects. TSol is currently in the process of reviewing its 48-strong panel of law firms, which has been ongoing since the end of 2011.

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Anthony Inglese – HM Revenue & Customs

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Anthony Inglese

General counsel and solicitor

HM Revenue & Customs

 

Anthony Inglese oversees a large team of 400 staff, of which around half are lawyers. He has historically used private practice solicitors for litigation and commercial work but has reduced this considerably to cut costs over recent years. However, external legal spend at HM Revenue & Customs currently stands at around £20m, with any spend on law firms being first approved by the Attorney General.

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Mark Hynes – London Borough of Lambeth

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Mark Hynes

Director of governance and democracy

London Borough of Lambeth

 

Mark Hynes is proud of his 40 lawyer-team; particularly the way he says it has embraced new technologies and cultural change, which has reduced costs, increased output and improved staff morale. He loves the political environment the public sector offers and enjoys working alongside politicians and council officers on a wide range of issues.

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David Tatlow – Birmingham City Council

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David Tatlow

Director of legal and democratic services and monitoring officer

Birmingham City Council

 

David Tatlow heads the largest local government legal department in Europe, comprising 235 individuals, including 126 lawyers. It’s the equivalent of a medium-sized law firm and returns around £12m in turnover on average.

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Geoff Wild – Kent County Council

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Geoff Wild

Director of governance and law

Kent County Council

 

With 130 lawyers, Geoff Wild heads up one of the largest teams of local authority lawyers in the UK operating as an in-house trading practice. He looks for proactive dynamic entrepreneurial lawyers in his team that can demonstrate local government lawyers are not second rate compared to the private sector.

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Simon Mallinson – Worcestershire County Council

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Simon Mallinson

Head of legal and democratic services and monitoring officer

Worcestershire County Council

 

Praised by one private practice partner for his ‘deep-rooted desire’ to help his organisation deliver for the residents and businesses of Worcestershire, Simon Mallinson has always worked in the public sector and says he enjoys the large variety of work the Council offers, which takes him back to the days when he was a trainee solicitor doing different seats. ‘The difference is the buck now stops with me,’ he says.

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Hugh Peart – London Boroughs of Barnet and Harrow

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Hugh Peart

Director of legal and governance services

London Boroughs of Barnet and Harrow

 

Hugh Peart joined the London Borough of Harrow almost 20 years ago as a principal solicitor in the borough’s childcare law team. In October 2012, Barnet and Harrow officially merged their legal teams under Hugh’s leadership to form ‘HB Public Law’ with an aim to slash the councils’ legal spend by over £3m.

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Jayne Hammond – Bury Metropolitan Council, North West Legal Consortium (NWLC)

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Jayne Hammond

Director of legal and democratic services

 

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, North West Legal Consortium (NWLC)

 

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council is part of the North West Legal Consortium, set up in 2006 as the first combined consortium of barristers and solicitors. Jayne Hammond has served the council for over a decade and currently heads a team of 22 lawyers.

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