Virgin
Robert Blok looks after the legal aspects of Virgin investments across a whole range of industry sectors and oversees the relationship between Virgin’s diverse businesses and the external law firms to make sure they use the best practice in every country.
Colt Group
Robin Saphra garnered plenty of attention last year after signing Baker & McKenzie as Colt Group’s principal adviser on a fixed annual contract worth £1m a year, cutting down his roster of external advisers from around 60 firms to just three. This has clearly reduced his legal spend, which currently stands at around €12m per year.
Everything Everywhere
James Blendis is used to high-profile work: he oversaw the game-changing merger between Orange and T-Mobile in 2010 and took part in the Leveson inquiry last year. ‘I was never a specialised telecoms guy – you have to learn on the job and technically you have to learn how the networks operate otherwise you’re not able to do your job properly,’ he says.
BT
Dan Fitz joined BT as group general counsel in 2010 and is described as ‘at the forefront of developments in the international markets for communications and media services’. He arrived at BT just after the company had gone through some tough times, including shedding 20% of its workforce in 2008 and 2009.
Manchester United Football Club
Patrick Stewart has presided over some big changes since he took over as director of legal at Manchester United Football Club, as the club has continued to become a global phenomenon: in the last 12 months alone, MUFC has opened an office in Hong Kong and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Continue reading “Patrick Stewart – Manchester United Football Club”
Dyson
In his 14 years at Dyson, Martin Bowen has seen his legal department grow significantly. He now runs a team of 40 staff and has recently hired five new lawyers, including two commercial lawyers in the UK and one in Singapore.
Intel
Intel has 300 lawyers worldwide and 41 in Europe. In the labour law division that Richard Devereux runs, there are six staff.
BSkyB
Unsurprisingly, regulatory affairs are crucial for James Conyers’ 17-strong team at BSkyB, including dealing with Ofcom. Competition disputes with other UK broadcasters have been a key feature of the last ten years as well.
ITV
When Andrew Garard arrived at ITV, he immediately set about clearing out the television company’s long list of external legal advisers, sweeping away 36 of the 45 firms. He has spent considerable time choosing high-calibre individuals who are ‘fun and challenging’. The company uses external counsel for M&A, litigation, property, HR, IP and IT and Treasury issues.
Rugby Football Union
‘The ultimate part of my job is arriving at the stadium on an international match day,’ says Karena Vleck, who joined the RFU eight years ago and loves running her team of four.
