Nicolas Taylor
General counsel
Jones Lang LaSalle
Nicolas Taylor has been general counsel at Jones Lang LaSalle for eight years and manages a team of 20 lawyers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and praises the ‘fantastic team culture’ at the real estate services company.
The company needed the external expertise of Baker & McKenzie when it merged with King Sturge in May 2011, making the combined entity the biggest property agent in the UK, worth £197m. Most of Taylor’s legal spend goes on special projects such as acquisitions and some litigation, although he prefers to keep as much as possible in-house. He does have some advice for his external advisers: he would prefer to be billed quickly and frequently, rather than waiting months for a large invoice.
Law firms used: Baker & McKenzie, Irwin Mitchell
2004-present: General counsel, Jones Lang LaSalle
1999-2004: General counsel Latin America, Dell 1994-99: European counsel, Dell
1987-94: Solicitor, Frere Cholmeley Bischoff