Graham Vinter
General counsel
BG Group
Described as ‘such a big name that his views will always get taken seriously both inside and outside the company’ and having spent the best part of two decades as a partner at a Magic Circle firm, Graham Vinter has high expectations of his external legal panel firms. With an external legal spend of $30m-40m worldwide each year at BG Group he is particularly keen that firms have a deep understanding of the oil and gas industry and the cost pressures clients are under.
‘We are open to suggestions on new ways of working,’ he says. ‘I think there is still a long way to go with outsourcing and partnering concepts on some matters. We should probably be exploring more effective partnering and integration between in-house and private practice teams.’
Law firms used: Allen & Overy, CMS, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills
2007-present: General counsel and company secretary, BG Group
1988-2007: Partner, Allen & Overy