Barclays presses counsel for radical shake-up by 2021 as it unveils final panel

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Barclays is intent on pushing dozens of major law firms to adopt a radical overhaul in working arrangements in time for its long-planned move away from a formal panel by 2021.

The global banking giant confirmed on Monday (2 July) that it had completed its final global panel review, further reducing its advisers from 140 to just under 100 before it phases out a conventional legal panel altogether in three years. Continue reading “Barclays presses counsel for radical shake-up by 2021 as it unveils final panel”

Veteran Pernod Ricard GC FitzSimons departs after 16 years at the helm

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French wines and spirits company Pernod Ricard announced yesterday (2 July) it had lost a veteran of the in-house legal community, with group general counsel (GC) Ian FitzSimons departing after a 16-year stint.

In a statement, Pernod Ricard said FitzSimons ‘has decided to devote himself to new projects outside the group’ and thanked him ‘for his contribution, notably as a key actor in the major acquisitions which have transformed the group.’ Continue reading “Veteran Pernod Ricard GC FitzSimons departs after 16 years at the helm”

Refreshing revamps: EDF and Co-op Group look to new firms in panel reviews

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Refreshing revamps: EDF and Co-op Group look to new firms in panel reviews

One of the UK’s big six energy suppliers, EDF Energy, has nearly halved its external advisers in a bid to plug into ‘deeper’ relationships, while the addition of two new firms mirrors the refreshment seen elsewhere in the Co-operative Group’s revamped legal panel.

In late April, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) were added to EDF’s new panel of eight firms, which has been cut from the previous 14. Continue reading “Refreshing revamps: EDF and Co-op Group look to new firms in panel reviews”

Veteran Novartis GC Ehrat steps down over ‘error’ in Trump lawyer agreement

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Veteran Novartis GC Ehrat steps down over ‘error’ in Trump lawyer agreement

A longstanding and well-respected member of the in-house community, Felix Ehrat has abruptly stepped down from his role as general counsel (GC) of Swiss healthcare giant Novartis after becoming entangled in a controversy involving US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer.

Ehrat said in mid-May he would retire from Novartis shortly thereafter. He had been GC and a member of the executive committee at the Basel-based pharmaceuticals company since 2011, but was forced to admit ‘an error’ relating to an agreement between the company and Michael Cohen – Trump’s lawyer. Continue reading “Veteran Novartis GC Ehrat steps down over ‘error’ in Trump lawyer agreement”

Sole-adviser relationships: Commitment issues

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Sole-adviser relationships: Commitment issues

Commitment. Marriage. Honeymoon. Divorce. Conversations about single-supplier legal advisory mandates are rife with relationship-strewn analogies.

While no two arrangements are the same, most begin with a commitment from a company and its in-house legal team to reduce external legal spend and get a better handle on its multitude of legal connections. Continue reading “Sole-adviser relationships: Commitment issues”

Green investment – The colour of money

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Green investment – The colour of money

Pressure for business to ‘go green’ has been building steadily for 20 years. What started as a minority concern has steadily moved up the corporate agenda, as governments impose incentives and penalties to support green policies, while an increasingly informed consumer base votes with their wallets.

Yet one sector slow to rise to the challenge has been finance and financial services, for which the ordinary barriers to green thinking are more pronounced. Continue reading “Green investment – The colour of money”

Aviation focus: Winds of change

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Aviation focus: Winds of change

Uncertainty seems to be the only thing lawyers working in Europe’s aviation sector can count on these days.

The recent collapse of two established major European airlines demonstrated the volatility facing many sections of the industry, with UK-headquartered Monarch Airlines and Air Berlin becoming the latest casualties of turbulence. Continue reading “Aviation focus: Winds of change”

Client profile: Richard Price, Anglo American

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Client profile: Richard Price, Anglo American

Shortly before Richard Price went in-house as group general counsel (GC) and company secretary at Anglo American, the legal team’s headcount was cut in half. This was not coupled with a reduced workload, however. Expectations remained the same.

Quite a platform for Price, a former external adviser to the company as Shearman & Sterling’s co-head of mining and metals, to find his feet in-house after more than 20 years in private practice. Continue reading “Client profile: Richard Price, Anglo American”

Gamification – the thoroughly modern way to redesign legal services

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Gamification – the thoroughly modern way to redesign legal services

You may not have heard the term ‘gamification’, but the chances are you have experienced a form of it.

Perhaps you’re an executive in a FTSE 500 company with a generous bonus triggered when your performance meets certain conditions. You could be a corporate client, flicking through the ranked lawyers in The Legal 500, preparing to draw up a shortlist for your next deal. In each case, you would be responding to an element of gameplay dynamics, subtly influencing your judgement, or motivating particular choices. Continue reading “Gamification – the thoroughly modern way to redesign legal services”

Trust me, I’m a lawyer… technology and the evolving role of GCs

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Trust me, I’m a lawyer… technology and the evolving role of GCs

Academic and Thinkers50 honouree Rachel Botsman is focused on trust. Of late, that focus has looked at how technology has shifted our understanding of trust and impacted on both our personal and professional lives.

In particular, Botsman draws a distinction between ‘trust’ and ‘trustworthiness’. The former is generally thought of as a state of mind engendered by the latter. ‘Trustworthiness’, therefore, can be defined as a set of qualities that inspire trust, and is arguably more measurable, because trust can be influenced by emotional factors. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two, but they do not always follow on from each other; hence we can instinctively trust someone, or feel that someone is trustworthy – without trusting them yet. Continue reading “Trust me, I’m a lawyer… technology and the evolving role of GCs”