Client profile: Daniel Toner, Spire Healthcare

Posted on |
Client profile: Daniel Toner, Spire Healthcare

Daniel Toner had done his research. Before an interview to become head of legal at Bupa Hospitals in 2006, he noticed the company had shifted some of its non-hospital assets to a new division.

At the interview he asked, tongue-in-cheek, whether Bupa was selling its hospitals division. He was told: ‘Absolutely not. That would never happen. They’re central to the Bupa philosophy.’ After getting the job, Toner recalls: ‘On my first day, I was called aside and told, “Right, we’re selling our hospitals division. Sign this NDA.”’ Continue reading “Client profile: Daniel Toner, Spire Healthcare”

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

Posted on |
Novartis GC Ehrat steps down over ‘error’ in Trump lawyer agreement

Veteran group general counsel of Swiss healthcare giant Novartis, Felix Ehrat, is standing down after admitting ‘an error’ relating to the company’s former agreement with US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer.

Ehrat (pictured) will retire from Novartis in June, the company said on Wednesday (16 May). Ehrat, who has been GC and a member of the executive committee at the Basel-based pharmaceuticals company since 2011, will be replaced by chief ethics, risk and compliance officer Shannon Thyme Klinger. Continue reading “Novartis GC Ehrat steps down over ‘error’ in Trump lawyer agreement”

Two new faces gain membership to reshaped Co-op legal panel

Posted on |
Two new faces gain membership to reshaped Co-op legal panel

Seven firms have won spots on a revamped Co-op Group legal panel which sees its corporate, commercial and property panels combined to work alongside primary adviser Allen & Overy (A&O).

Newly-appointed firms Fieldfisher and Squire Patton Boggs join Addleshaw Goddard, Pinsent Masons, Hill Dickinson, Brodies and Paris Smith for a three-year term, following a review which began last year. Continue reading “Two new faces gain membership to reshaped Co-op legal panel”

Forming, storming, norming and performing

Posted on | , and
Forming, storming, norming and performing

What makes a great corporate legal team? It is a question general counsel (GCs) surprisingly often struggle to answer. This lack of familiarity with the stock definitions of management theory should not be interpreted as a sign of operational incompetence, though.

‘The most common attribute any company looks for when hiring a GC is the ability to manage and lead a team,’ says Siobhán Lewington, managing director of legal recruitment boutique Fox Rodney Search. ‘The interview process is designed to highlight those skills and it is all but impossible to become head of a legal department now without an innate flair for teambuilding.’ Continue reading “Forming, storming, norming and performing”