The new front

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The new front

As expected – or feared – implementing the incoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a mammoth task for some companies. ‘It is all-encompassing,’ says Karen Kerrigan, chief legal officer at equity crowdfunding firm Seedrs. ‘The advantage of being a small business is that you can involve all the other departments. Frankly, I would be terrified of GDPR if I was at a large business, because you have to take a much more decisive risk-based approach in terms of what you are physically able to look at. We were able to sit down with our development team, our marketing team and our investments team, and go through every single one of their activities and the service providers they were using.’

To say GDPR will have wide implications for in-house teams is an understatement. It is unlikely that there will be any client or any part of a client’s business that will remain unaffected by the EU regulation, which has a deadline for implementation of 25 May 2018. Continue reading “The new front”

The new space race

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The new space race

‘For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace.’
John F Kennedy

When President John F Kennedy stood before Rice University on 12 September 1962 and boldly declared that not only would the US be the first country to land on the moon, but they would do it before the end of the decade, he captured the imagination of a generation. Continue reading “The new space race”

GC 2.0 – The GC Powerlist Summer Reception

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GC 2.0 – The GC Powerlist Summer Reception

Do you know your cash-burn phase from your TLDNR? Welcome to the buccaneering, hierarchy-lite world of the fast-growth, tech-driven ‘disruptors’, the kind of business that a growing number of lawyers aspire to work in or advise.

Following the launch earlier this year of the 2017 GC Powerlist, which focused on early-stage companies and rising stars at major plcs, we teamed up with DLA Piper to assemble an audience of more than 70 in-house counsel at London’s private members’ club Home House for an informal discussion from the lawyers working at the digital coal-face. The debate covered the launch of the much-touted Disruptive GC group, the challenges of working with impatient entrepreneurs and how lawyers can slot into the culture of a constantly-evolving company. Continue reading “GC 2.0 – The GC Powerlist Summer Reception”

Client profile: Mark Maurice-Jones, Nestlé

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Client profile: Mark Maurice-Jones, Nestlé

Unusually for the current UK and Ireland general counsel (GC) of Swiss multinational and famed KitKat creator Nestlé, Mark Maurice-Jones’ career started in teaching.

Armed with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Cambridge that he was unsure how to utilise, Maurice-Jones opted for a year-and-a-half-long stint in Hong Kong teaching maths, physics and chemistry. But ultimately he found the pull of a career in the law more alluring. Continue reading “Client profile: Mark Maurice-Jones, Nestlé”

The cutting edge

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The cutting edge

During Apple’s earnings conference call in May, chief executive Tim Cook discussed the company’s long-running and bitter dispute with Qualcomm, a company that manufactures internal components for the iPhone.

‘Qualcomm is trying to charge Apple a percentage of the total iPhone value. They do some great work around standard-essential patents, but Qualcomm’s component is only one small part of the iPhone. We don’t think that’s right, so we’re taking a principled stand on it and we strongly believe we’re in the right. I am sure they think they’re in the right, and that’s what courts are for.’
Continue reading “The cutting edge”

Beware the Black Swan

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Beware the Black Swan

Imagine the worst: within the last 72 hours, your company has been hit by a major crisis. There may have been serious damage to the community in which you operate. Your customers may have suffered, people’s livelihoods may have been destroyed, the environment may be irretrievably damaged. Some of your employees and contractors may be injured, or worse. Your investors will be livid, and the board looking to assign blame. By the end of the first week, chances are your organisation will be facing dozens of lawsuits, some set to become class actions over time.

At this early stage, you will realise that verifiable facts are few and far between. Opinions and rumours abound. You will have little or no idea of the extent of any physical or financial damage, or to what degree the organisation was complicit in the event. You do not even know which of your top team you can count on. Some of them may be implicated; others may be operationally inexperienced, unfamiliar with the political realities, or temperamentally unsuited to the new situation – filled with good intentions, but uncertain what role to play. Continue reading “Beware the Black Swan”

Banking on change

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Banking on change

When the global financial crisis struck in 2008, the impact reverberated far beyond the traditional financial centres of the West. Initial speculation was that Asia would be relatively well insulated from the crisis due to the growing financial independence of the region. Instead, the effects hit at a speed and depth that surpassed all expectations. Under fire, financial institutions sought to reduce their exposure to the region, resulting in a steep decline in the value of currency and equity markets, at a time when the price and volume of exports was plummeting.

The immediate impact of the crisis gave way to an equally brisk recovery, bolstered by strong domestic demand in China and Indonesia preventing both economies from falling into recession. But while sophisticated financial centres were swift in their regulatory response to the crisis, particularly where reform to over-the-counter financial products and transparency were concerned, much of Asia has lagged behind. Continue reading “Banking on change”

Client profile: Angus McBride, News UK

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Client profile: Angus McBride, News UK

The veteran criminal defence lawyer turned legal head on bridging the gap between journalism and law

While a student at the University of Wales, Angus McBride mulled his career prospects. During his first year at university, he was obliged to choose three subjects to study. ‘I took English literature and philosophy and then decided I was going to do law as well. It was a last-minute thought.’ Continue reading “Client profile: Angus McBride, News UK”

Rebels with a clause – a new kind of group for a new kind of client

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Rebels with a clause – a new kind of group for a new kind of client

Tech-savvy, dynamic and fast-growing – the Disruptive GC group is on every law firm’s radar. Legal Business meets the hustling new kids on the block

For classists, the word ‘disruptive’ still carries negative connotations of damage, chaos and disarray. But these days in corporate circles it has become the phrase of the day – a complimentary shorthand to describe tech-driven innovators remaking all manner of industries. But the cult of disruption – birthed in Clayton Christensen’s hugely influential 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma – has truly come of age when it has reached not only the legal profession, but its in-house branch.

Continue reading “Rebels with a clause – a new kind of group for a new kind of client”

Client profile: David Fein, Standard Chartered Bank

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Client profile: David Fein, Standard Chartered Bank

The former law firm partner turned banking giant GC on his globally-demanding role

As a former senior staffer in the Clinton administration, David Fein has a tendency to chart his career and life against the backdrop of US politics. While working as a state district attorney, it was early in Barack Obama’s second presidential term that Fein found himself getting wistful for a new challenge, one that would see him become general counsel (GC) of the FTSE 100 banking group Standard Chartered in his first move in-house. ‘I was ready for a new challenge. I wanted something new and so I thought something I hadn’t done was be a general counsel.’

Continue reading “Client profile: David Fein, Standard Chartered Bank”