The media lawyer talks about the diversity of London’s workforce and the handling of that Snowden story.
When interviewing for the client profile, in-house counsel will often list a slew of generic corporate M&A deals when citing what they consider ‘interesting work’. Guardian Media Group (GMG)’s longstanding group commercial legal director, Sarah Davis, is an exception to this.
Continue reading “Client profile: Sarah Davis, Guardian Media Group”
Our fourth annual client survey shows the maturing role of in-house counsel leading to greater job satisfaction. But in winning more responsibility, are they taking on more than they can handle?
Career-wise, in-house is the new black. As Chris Fowler, general counsel (GC) for BT’s UK commercial legal services division, observes, there is now much more of a desire among millennials to work for companies than in private practice. With in-house teams evolving in status to become more important to the business, the role of the corporate counsel now is far more attractive to law graduates than ever before.
Continue reading “The In-House Lawyer Survey – More than a number”
Our fourth in-house survey shows a softening stance towards external advisers from general counsel, reflecting the need for high-quality consultative advice.
With more than 20 years spent in multiple in-house legal positions, BAE Systems’ group general counsel (GC) Philip Bramwell has been at the centre of the evolution of the in-house legal profession. But despite seeing the GC rise in prominence to trusted adviser status, he doesn’t believe the role will shift so fundamentally that it will lessen dependence on external counsel.
Continue reading “The In-House Lawyer Survey – Bang for your buck”
Client rankings from our fourth annual in-house survey show that GCs continue to trust premium advice. Can non-law firm providers make headway?
During the 1990s, when ITV’s current group general counsel (GC) Andrew Garard was serving a stint as head of legal at Reuters, a deal landed on his desk that required external advice. A revolving credit facility which, he says, was the first-ever syndicated loan deal done via the internet.
Our inaugural GC Powerlist: Ireland launch brought together Dublin’s legal elite to celebrate the achievements of 100 of the country’s finest in-house counsel.
The latest addition to our GC Powerlist series was launched on 7 October, highlighting the most influential in-house counsel in Ireland. The inaugural GC Powerlist: Ireland was released at a reception for those included in the publication, hosted at sponsor McCann FitzGerald’s Dublin office.
To celebrate our annual GC Power List report, Legal Business this summer teamed up with DLA Piper and Thomson Reuters to hold an evening reception and debate to explore the topic of teamwork and give senior in-house counsel an informal chance to network.
Our discussion panel comprised British American Tobacco’s Western Europe legal head Benoit Belhomme, Credit Suisse’s EMEA general counsel (GC) Maria Leistner, ITV’s GC Andrew Garard, Diageo’s GC Siobhan Moriarty and AIG’s EMEA legal head Chris Newby. Bringing a private practice view to the proceedings was DLA Piper co-chair Sir Nigel Knowles, with Legal Business editor-in-chief Alex Novarese chairing the discussion. More than 50 senior in-house counsel attended the reception at the The Ivy’s private members’ club on 24 June.
The GC Power List will return in 2016.
Continue reading “GC Power List Summer Reception – In search of excellence”
To mark our Regional Insight report, we teamed up with Weightmans to assemble a group of senior in-house counsel in the north west.
A discussion over added value in legal services typically begins with a discussion of what the term actually means. Right off the bat, Celia Tierney of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council points out that the phrase ‘best value’ was coined by the public sector, as local government bodies have been required to provide this in their services for a considerable amount of time. On the other hand, Tyco’s regional general counsel (GC) EMEA, David Symonds, sums it up for most when he says: ‘The primary driver that we are judged by is how much we spend externally.’
Continue reading “North west clients – The delivery business”
As part of our Regional Insight series, we met with senior in-house lawyers and partners from Brodies in Edinburgh to discuss the key issues facing GCs working in Scotland.
The most heavily-used phrase among in-house counsel and private practice lawyers alike is ‘trusted adviser’, so it is therefore unsurprising that this became the first major topic of discussion on an agenda looking at the key pressure points facing in-house counsel. Stuart Clarke, head of legal at Scottish Enterprise, says it is fundamental to be seen as being at the heart of your organisation’s thoughts on how it is going to deliver its business plan.
In a flagship report last year, we teamed up with BLP to assess the state of innovation in law – and the role of leaders in forcing through change within conservative law firms. We assemble a group of GCs and academics to get the client perspective
Innovation it seems is everywhere and nowhere in the legal industry these days. Given the dramatic upheaval in the global economy over the last six years and an unmistakable shift in in-house legal teams – teams that are increasingly able to take over work being unimaginatively handled by external counsel – providers are at pains to stress their progressive credentials.
Continue reading “The right questions – The client view on innovation”
KKR’s European GC talks about building a local team for a diversifying finance giant.
One of the most common criticisms levied at general counsel (GCs) is their inability to share best practice, as well as their supposed lack of knowledge of the challenges facing peers. However, for Susanna Berger, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR)’s GC for Europe, networking with peers is one of the best parts of the job.
Continue reading “Client Profile: Susanna Berger, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co”
