MasterCard appoints Murphy as GC as Hanft steps down

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UBS and HSBC see key in-house moves

The start of 2014 has seen almost as much in the way of global lateral movement and internal promotions in-house as out. Last month, MasterCard named Tim Murphy as its general counsel (GC) and chief franchise officer; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher appointed UBS’s former global head of investigations and Americas GC Mark Shelton as a partner in New York; and HSBC confirmed that Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton partner Shawn Chen has joined the bank to oversee its regulatory and enforcement department.

Murphy is to take his seat on the corporation’s executive committee as MasterCard’s GC from 1 April as current incumbent Noah Hanft retires from the role.

Continue reading “MasterCard appoints Murphy as GC as Hanft steps down”

Hires in London for MoFo and O’Melveny as Paul Hastings brings in Pfizer’s assistant GC

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US firms have announced a number of senior hires in the last few days as Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and O’Melveny & Myers turn to their rivals for partner appointments in London, while Paul Hastings’ New York office brings in Pfizer’s head of government investigations as partner.

At MoFo, former head of Reed Smith’s acquisition and leveraged finance practice in London, Philip Slater, is to join the top 30 Global100 firm’s financial transactions group as partner. Continue reading “Hires in London for MoFo and O’Melveny as Paul Hastings brings in Pfizer’s assistant GC”

FTSE 100 leadership: BG Group’s Vinter takes over as head of GC100 as Centrica’s Dawson steps down

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Recognised as a heavyweight among in-house advisory and lobbying groups, BG Group’s general counsel (GC) Graham Vinter has taken over as chair of the GC100 group, which brings together the most senior legal representatives from over 80 of the UK’s FTSE 100.

Vinter, who succeeds fellow energy giant Centrica’s GC and company secretary Grant Dawson, was voted in on 14 January and will now head a high-level executive committee responsible for the overall strategic direction of the GC100. Continue reading “FTSE 100 leadership: BG Group’s Vinter takes over as head of GC100 as Centrica’s Dawson steps down”

In-house: MasterCard appoints new GC; UBS regulatory chief exits for Gibson Dunn; and HSBC hires Cleary partner

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The start of the year has seen much lateral movement both in-house and out, with MasterCard naming Tim Murphy as general counsel and chief franchise officer as incumbent Noah Hanft retires from the company. Meanwhile, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher announced the hire of the former Americas general counsel and global head of investigations at UBS, Mark Shelton, as a partner in its New York office, while HSBC has confirmed that Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton partner Shawn Chen officially joined the bank this week to jointly oversee its litigation and regulatory enforcement department with co-general counsel Guy Nielson.

Continue reading “In-house: MasterCard appoints new GC; UBS regulatory chief exits for Gibson Dunn; and HSBC hires Cleary partner”

Comment: the rising stars in-house – bluechip legal teams are bursting with talent

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The first Legal Business edition of the year coincides with a major project for us: the second edition of our popular GC Power List, which launched last year. The idea is straightforward: we research in-house and private practice to identify a list of outstanding individuals who demonstrate the influence and rising clout that has come to define the modern in-house profession.

While the first report focused on senior GCs, for the second edition we have taken on the challenge of addressing the best performers coming into their own during their 30s and early 40s – the GCs of tomorrow. Continue reading “Comment: the rising stars in-house – bluechip legal teams are bursting with talent”

In-house: Shell finds internal replacement for Rees as it picks Ching as legal head

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Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has this time found an in-house replacement legal director Peter Rees QC, today (10 February) announcing former Singapore legal head Donny Ching as its new legal director with immediate effect.

UK-qualified Ching, whose most recent role was general counsel for Shell’s project and technology business replaces litigator Rees, who surprised many when he announced his departure last month – three years after joining Shell from Debevoise & Plimpton.

Continue reading “In-house: Shell finds internal replacement for Rees as it picks Ching as legal head”

In-house: face of BT Law to change after Miles Jobling steps aside

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The face of BT Law, having last year secured a licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority to hive off BT’s successful motor claims business into an alternative business structure (ABS), Miles Jobling has now handed over his lead role to Sheffield-based co-founder Archana Makol.

Makol has become the Compliance Officer of the Legal Practice (COLP) for BT Law, as most of the division’s contracts are processed out of Sheffield and a spokesperson for the telecoms giant explained: ‘The COLP role is very important and needs the person to be very close to the day-to-day operation.’ Continue reading “In-house: face of BT Law to change after Miles Jobling steps aside”

In-house: BT selects Axiom to replace UnitedLex as new LPO provider

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An innovator long at the vanguard of transforming the traditional in-house legal function, BT has just entered into a three-year contract with Axiom to provide legal support services across the UK, US, Africa, Middle East and Asia, replacing a contract formerly held by legal process outsourcing (LPO) provider UnitedLex.

All work previously undertaken by UnitedLex, which includes 30% of BT’s global services division’s legal work in the UK, transferred to Axiom on 1 February after a successful tender process that concluded towards the end of last year. Continue reading “In-house: BT selects Axiom to replace UnitedLex as new LPO provider”

The rising stars in-house – bluechip legal teams are bursting with talent

Posted on |

The first Legal Business edition of the year coincides with a major project for us: the second edition of our popular GC Power List, which launched last year. The idea is straightforward: we research in-house and private practice to identify a list of outstanding individuals who demonstrate the influence and rising clout that has come to define the modern in-house profession.

While the first report focused on senior GCs, for the second edition we have taken on the challenge of addressing the best performers coming into their own during their 30s and early 40s – the GCs of tomorrow.

Continue reading “The rising stars in-house – bluechip legal teams are bursting with talent”

RFU rejigs legal team as deputy head joins sports firm

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Bujalski promoted to head of legal as Handford joins Couchmans

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has reconfigured its in-house legal team, promoting in-house lawyer Angus Bujalski (pictured) to head of legal following the recent departure of Polly Handford to become a partner at sports law firm Couchmans.

Former Slaughter and May lawyer Bujalski will report directly to the organisation’s legal and governance director, Karena Vleck. While Vleck has oversight of legal as well as other sports-related areas such as player discipline, Bujalski will have specific responsibility for the legal function. Continue reading “RFU rejigs legal team as deputy head joins sports firm”