The MBA all-stars: training and development for GCs

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The MBA all-stars: training and development for GCs

In-house legal teams have become more sophisticated over the last 20 years but, according to many general counsel (GCs), the pressure to widen their skillsets over the next decade is intense.

For Pearson GC Bjarne Tellmann, the roundedness of the modern in-house lawyer starts with the training they receive, but he laments a hole in the market. He sends his trainees to receive mini-MBAs or ‘executive MBA-style training’ from a range of institutions, including Deloitte University. Oxford and Harvard also provide mini-MBAs. Continue reading “The MBA all-stars: training and development for GCs”

Client profile: Matt Wilson, Uber

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Client profile: Matt Wilson, Uber

‘I wrote my own resignation letter twice in the first six months,’ Matt Wilson, Uber’s associate general counsel (GC) for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says. ‘I didn’t hand it in either time, but it was close.’

A frank, but not surprising, admission. Wilson has, in the view of one peer, had one of the most difficult jobs in the GC community since he became the ridesharing company’s first domestic UK lawyer back in 2015. Continue reading “Client profile: Matt Wilson, Uber”

The GC (re)defined: Beyond the cookie cutter

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The GC (re)defined: Beyond the cookie cutter

What is it like to work as a lawyer in a fast-paced, risk-laden, tech-driven ‘disruptive’ company? How do general counsel (GCs) find the right level of resource in a company where legal is viewed as anathema to impatient entrepreneurs? When is a lawyer not a lawyer?

These are the questions we put to senior in-house figures we gathered from a broad range of early-stage or fast-moving, disruptive companies in our round table with Morrison & Foerster. Continue reading “The GC (re)defined: Beyond the cookie cutter”

Royal Mail GC de Bie posts resignation to take on new role at easyJet

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Royal Mail GC de Bie posts resignation to take on new role at easyJet

Highly rated Royal Mail general counsel Maaike de Bie has resigned to become legal chief at FTSE 100 airline easyJet next year.

De Bie (pictured), who is expected to join up with easyJet in 2019, brings to an end a five-year tenure at Royal Mail. She joined in January 2014 as deputy GC and subsequently oversaw a legal panel review in November of the same year. Prior to Royal Mail, White & Case-trained de Bie had spells in-house at both GE and Big Four firm EY. Continue reading “Royal Mail GC de Bie posts resignation to take on new role at easyJet”

In-house: Worldpay GC de Soyza to move on next year

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In-house: Worldpay GC de Soyza to move on next year

After leading Worldpay into a transatlantic £22.2bn merger with Vantiv last year, general counsel (GC) Ruwan (Roo) de Soyza will be leaving the global payment processing company in 2019.

De Soyza (pictured) is expected to leave midway through next year to take up a GC and executive committee role at a FTSE 100 technology company. Continue reading “In-house: Worldpay GC de Soyza to move on next year”

Our latest event: 80 top partners and general counsel (plus a few token men)

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Our latest event: 80 top partners and general counsel (plus a few token men)

One of our favourite pieces of the year was our first cover feature of 2018, Alphas, which thanks to the tireless efforts of senior reporters Nathalie Tidman and Marco Cillario, aimed to provide a credible selection of the top female talent in City law.

It was always the plan, if the piece was well received, to build on it with an event exploring the trials, realities and rewards for women making it to the top of transactional law, not to mention providing a forum for polished operators to swap notes. Continue reading “Our latest event: 80 top partners and general counsel (plus a few token men)”

Enterprise GC 2019 – Our flagship in-house event returns bigger, better and with a lot more bluechip GCs

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Enterprise GC 2019 – Our flagship in-house event returns bigger, better and with a lot more bluechip GCs

Consider this a call to arms or an acknowledgement that I can use all the help I can get but our team has begun turning its mind to the next Enterprise GC summit, the flagship in-house event from our parent company Legalease. It is, and has been, a group effort spanning teams across The Legal 500 and GC magazine, but this year a little more of the initial work on the conference agenda is falling to the Legal Business editorial team than in the previous three years of the event and we do not want to let the side down.

My hope is that we build on a successful event because there is no point bothering with a two-day residential GC get-together if you do not put your shoulder to the wheel, given the number of such events these days. Continue reading “Enterprise GC 2019 – Our flagship in-house event returns bigger, better and with a lot more bluechip GCs”