Peter Rees QC
Legal director
Royal Dutch Shell
In 2010 Shell’s legal director Beat Hess retired, leaving big shoes to fill, so the oil major took the unusual step of hiring arbitration specialist Peter Rees QC.
There is no doubt the hire of a highly respected disputes specialist was timely. As risk management climbs up the corporate agenda, the company has become increasingly vulnerable to litigation and with lawyers in more than 40 countries and operations in over 80 countries, Rees has a method of outsourcing legal work inherited from Hess.
‘My predecessor created a global panel system for our major, global work consisting of Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy for corporate transactions, Simmons & Simmons for projects, Hogan Lovells for disputes and Jones Day for antitrust,’ says Rees. ‘What I have learned, however, is that far more major deals can be handled entirely by in-house lawyers than I ever thought possible – and that is what we do with the vast majority of our transactional work.’
Law firms used: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Hogan Lovells, Jones Day, Simmons & Simmons
2011-present: Legal director, Royal Dutch Shell
2006-10: Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
1987-2006: Partner, Norton Rose