Barry Matthews
Director of Legal Affairs and Third-party Sales Relationships, ITV
Matthews received the most independent nominations from both private practice and in-house lawyers, not only within this category but across the entire Rising Stars research process.
Lovells-trained Matthews, who has also been shortlisted for the Rising Star In-house Counsel of the Year category at the Legal Business Awards, is at the forefront of ITV’s initiative to treat its external law firm panel as an extension of the in-house team, working on projects collaboratively. He has also been heavily involved personally in the TV company’s legal team to abolish hourly rates from its external lawyers.
Internally, he has developed a training programme with panel firms for ITV lawyers and has driven forward an internal secondment programme for them.
One senior insider comments: ‘Barry has that vision and the passion to help mould the legal team to better serve ITV’s needs. That means spending time with external counsel to understand what makes their life easier and helping external counsel to help ITV.’
Matthews has also spearheaded ITV’s extensive corporate social responsibility initiatives, including founding a joint scheme with Hogan Lovells, the running of a monthly legal clinic at HIV charity Body & Soul. He heads ITV’s collaborations with PRIME, working with firms like Olswang and Slaughter and May, to provide work opportunities to children from underprivileged backgrounds.
One commercial real estate partner at a leading commercial firm says: ‘Barry is a strong supporter of his team and always looks for ways to enhance their standing in the eyes of the wider business. He is a genuine supporter of equality and diversity in his team and in the wider legal profession. Barry is a star in the in-house world whose vast array of talents deserves wider recognition.’
Sarah Clarke
Director of Legal and Commercial Affairs, Channels, ITV
Another strong nomination for ITV, Clarke is responsible for negotiations over new programmes and recently handled a multimillion-pound three-year deal extension for both The X Factor and Ant and Dec.
Having joined ITV in 2009 from Reed Smith, Clarke is cited as a team player who is also able to take measured decisions and give clear instructions. She does all that ‘charmingly and with good humour – there are not many who can’, says one observer.
One senior insider says: ‘She is an absolute joy to work with. She’s restructured her team to give younger members a real opportunity to shine. In the business, ITV is regarded as the best broadcaster to negotiate with, which means more talent is likely to come to you, and that is largely thanks to Sarah.’
Director, Corporate (Legal), Virgin Media
Described as ‘brilliant, very switched on, very proactive’ with multiple independent nominations, Wragge & Co-trained Withers has swiftly moved up the ranks at Virgin, starting out in 2007 as associate corporate counsel before becoming assistant general counsel, director of corporate development and governance and then, in October last year, moving to become corporate director, responsible for M&A, strategic initiatives and compliance.
Over the past year she has been involved in a number of noteworthy transactions, not least Liberty Global’s headline acquisition of Virgin Media for £15bn ($23.3bn), which was game-changing for Withers in a number of ways.
One US-qualified corporate partner says: ‘As Virgin Media had lost its general counsel, Withers acted as the senior internal M&A lawyer in Virgin Media’s sale to Liberty Global. In this capacity, she played a key role in managing the M&A process (including direct advice to the chief executive), negotiating the legal aspects of the transaction, managing the due diligence process and, generally, getting the deal done, all on a very tight timetable.’
Withers is not only intellectually very able but has outstanding interpersonal skills effectively deployed with both internal management, external counsel and counterparties.
Chris Thomas
Director of Legal, Western Europe, Iron Mountain
Thomas joined New York-listed storage and information company Iron Mountain in 2008 from food services company Compass Group and has shown effective management of legal risk across a broad geography, making sure the business is not hamstrung by legal requirements but has its legal and risk profile managed appropriately.
At the company, which serves 156,000 customers in five continents, the Eversheds-trained lawyer has been at the forefront of an internal restructuring project described as a ‘business and operational transformation that will, if it is implemented by the board, radically alter the structure of the group and how it operates day-to-day.
‘Ensuring that this works commercially, operationally and legally and to a tight deadline of preparation delivery has been the highlight for Chris.’
Associate General Counsel, Misys
When Misys’ GC Tom Kilroy was appointed as acting chief executive in February 2012 following the resignation of Mike Lawrie, Bradin stepped up to a newly-created associate general counsel role, helping to lead the legal team through a series of merger approaches from Temenos, CVC and ValueAct Capital, and Vista Equity Partners, which in April 2012 saw shareholders approve a £3.50 per share offer from Vista through its investment vehicle Magic Bidco.
This acquisition saw Misys merged with software company Turaz, and Mayer Brown-trained Bradin, who heads a team of five made up of lawyer and company secretarial team members, has led the legal effort to bring the two entities together.
One partner at a leading City firm says that the former Allen & Overy lawyer Bradin has ‘commitment to her company and to her team and a willingness to expand her experience to encompass M&A, company secretarial and finance arrangements’.
Jarlath Astin
Lead Commercial Lawyer, Energy, Siemens
Another entry from Siemens, Astin supports Siemens’ energy transmission (ET) business based in Manchester, reporting to deputy head of legal Martin Heath.
Still only in his mid-thirties, Astin joined Siemens four years ago and was appointed lead commercial lawyer in September 2012, working for Siemens’ energy transmission division, which deals with the high voltage cabling across the country and also connections for offshore wind farms.
His role as lead commercial lawyer sees him deal with tendering, engineering and customers, where he has ably handled customer disputes to a successful conclusion, with one senior colleague commenting: ‘He gets on with people and knows what has to be done.’
Described in internal customer feedback as a ‘very positive business partner’, Astin very quickly built a strong relationship with ET UK’s management and stakeholders following his appointment.
One admirer comments: ‘He is very approachable. Very personable and goes well with the business. Working somewhere like Siemens, you need to be versatile.’
Kim Stockdale
Country sector lead lawyer, corporate and finance, Siemens
Described by one senior figure at Siemens as ‘very much a star’, Stockdale joined Siemens in July 2011 from Kirkland & Ellis as a senior commercial lawyer and in May 2012 was promoted to country sector lead lawyer in corporate and finance, heading a ten-strong team that supports Siemens in corporate work, company secretarial and its finance leasing business.
Stockdale has a strong knowledge of banking and finance law and how the operational side of the business works from an earlier career in banking. She has been heavily involved in the financing of Siemens’ £1.6bn Thameslink deal.
Another colleague says: ‘She is able to make pragmatic judgements and has a good understanding of the law and what the bank is trying to achieve.’
Head of Legal, Rugby Football Union
Bujalski was only recently promoted to head of legal at the Rugby Football Union (RFU), reporting to legal and governance director Karena Vleck.
The former Slaughter and May lawyer joined the RFU as a junior solicitor three-and-a-half years ago from The Simkins Partnership and has gained the respect of the RFU’s executive and his peers alike, due to his persuasive skills, enthusiasm and hard work.
Responsible for handling all the RFU’s commercial deals, Bujalski has also become an expert in corporate governance and when head of legal Polly Handford left for sports practice Couchmans in December, he was a natural fit for the role.
Bujalski is regularly asked to speak at conferences and at training sessions both externally and internally, and one senior co-worker comments: ‘He manages to keep his sense of perspective and sense of humour. He has worked really hard to earn his promotion to head of legal – it is very much deserved and has been received with universal acclaim here at the RFU.’
Justin Wolfe
Senior Corporate Counsel, Liberty Global
At Liberty Global, which last year completed a £15bn acquisition of Virgin Media, Wolfe is described as an excellent technical lawyer with great business acumen, who is adept at running complex, multijurisdictional transactions.
One lawyer who has worked alongside Wolfe recently says: ‘He is a superb manager – both at managing his colleagues, whether legal or commercial, external counsel and other parties involved in transactions. He is a skilful communicator and extremely personable.’
Chief Counsel, Governance Risk and Compliance, Thomson Reuters
Former Kemp Little associate Leason is widely praised for his ‘very strong intellectual capacity, instinctive business sense and engagement with business colleagues, a Stakhanovite work ethic and his ability to rapidly assess and reassess business priorities, cope with uncertainty or ambiguity and give nuanced, clear advice’.
Thomson Reuters’ global risk and compliance teams have traditionally been separate but Leason has played a key role in their integration and his World-Check Risk Intelligence team recently won an internal award from the business, with one insider commenting: ‘It is pretty unheard of for legal to win.’
Leason manages a widely dispersed team, which collaborates across different jurisdictions throughout the year, with two in the US and three in the UK.
The insider comments: ‘He is an excellent lawyer and gives good, solid advice. He understands the business and what it wants to achieve. If someone comes up with a hare-brained scheme, he understands what they want and can work out how to get there. He gives his people a lot of freedom in the way they work. He sets the agenda and tone and is there for the big questions.’
Further underlining his commercial instincts, Leason is currently working outside of the legal department for the business as part of a team that has been put together to launch Thomson Reuters’ ‘Know Your Customer’ project.
Emma Jelley
Senior Regional Counsel, UK and Ireland, Google
Jelley is described by one commercial disputes lawyer at a leading UK law firm as ‘incredibly impressive, she has an enormous remit and handles it with humour, grace and a fierce intellect’.
The former Lovells lawyer was also seconded to pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline in 2004 and luxury fashion house Gucci in 2006 during her time in private practice.
Peers generally regard her as an excellent technical lawyer who can speak multiple languages having worked across Europe. The lawyer adds: ‘She is great to deal with, she takes on board advice but challenges where necessary.’
Louise Strain
M&A Counsel, WPP
Described by one partner of a top-50 UK firm as ‘someone to watch’, Strain qualified in 2004 after training at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, before becoming a senior associate at Latham & Watkins in 2008.
She has been heavily involved in major deals in the hotel and leisure sector, where her close working relationship with one large client led her to move in-house in 2011 to Veolia Environnement, before she moved to WPP in September 2013 as M&A counsel.
Paul Taylor
Solicitor, EMEA Counsel, Pearson Vue
Taylor is described as bright, intuitive and imaginative as well as being highly commercial.
He is noted for his calm and friendly manner, which enables him to efficiently manage the needs of the business while seeking appropriate legal advice to make sure that the company proceeds in full awareness of the pros and cons of a particular course of action.
One dispute resolution partner at a top-50 UK firm says: ‘He is a pleasure to deal with. He has recently managed a large piece of litigation to which he was extremely committed. He is also an excellent project manager and able to identify and communicate risks of complicated contracts clearly and concisely.’
Legal Director, Labour and Employment Law, Colt Group
Malik has established herself as a respected data centre lawyer and held the role of legal director of Colt data centre services division for three years before an intense period of re-training saw her take on the huge challenge of a new role at Colt as a director of labour law in September 2013.
One lawyer says of Malik: ‘Sophia is one of the most effective in-house lawyers I have ever met. She brings excellent credentials from a background in private practice at Olswang and combines this with extremely effective stakeholder management. She has a “velvet glove” approach – firm yet well-liked and respected by all her business colleagues.’
Joanna Patterson
Employment Counsel, EMEA, Expedia
Patterson’s career achievements to date include the skilful handling of difficult trade union problems and the sensitive employment issues that arise at all levels regardless of which organisation she is working for. Her previous experience includes working as employment counsel at both Coca-Cola Enterprises and PepsiCo.
‘Joanna speaks the language of the business, is commercial in her approach and quickly earns trust. She is also a key conduit between the business and external counsel and has a good sense of how to manage those relationships well,’ says one observer.