The Client: David McLeish – Playtech

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The former BLP partner on taking the GC seat at a fast-growing online gaming firm

When David McLeish left Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) to become general counsel (GC) of the world’s largest publicly-traded gaming software company, he figured it would present a new challenge. The FTSE 250-listed Playtech has certainly not disappointed. A fast-paced Israeli company with a pronounced work ethic, acquisitive mind-set and cash burning a hole in its pockets, the company is also operating in jurisdictions around the world where the licensing rules surrounding gambling are far from black and white.

McLeish left BLP in May 2012 to join Playtech, a client of four years, which was about to list on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Describing his specialism at BLP as ‘corporate, gaming, hotels and leisure’, he says ‘the opportunity to become the GC of a FTSE 250 company was too good to turn down’. Like many private practice lawyers who have worked for a client for many years, he was also attracted to the idea of seeing deals through to the end and being part of a business.

Two months after his arrival, then AIM-listed Playtech – which provides branded software for online casinos, poker rooms, bingo games and sports betting for the likes of bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes – floated with a market capitalisation of around £1bn. That figure is now £2bn and the company’s revenue has risen from €111.5m in 2008 to €317.6m in 2012.

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BT moves to extend its use of legal outsourcing in the UK

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BT has begun an extensive legal process outsourcing (LPO) tender for its work in India and the US and is expecting to introduce a new provider for UK work as the telecoms giant moves to outsource over 30% of its UK global services legal work.

The move comes as the FTSE 100 company’s alternative business structure (ABS) arm, BT Law, has won three new contracts and looks to be used as a platform to turn the legal department from a cost to a profit centre, including potentially offering employment law advice.

BT general counsel (GC) Dan Fitz and new director of compliance Gareth Tipton say they are midway through the tender with providers including incumbent UnitedLex – which already takes on 30% of the global services division’s legal work in the UK. The process will take up to three months to complete.

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Global 100: The client view

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FTSE 100 general counsel (GC) say global firms have finally listened to their concerns on costs and that, if anything, the scales need to be tipped in favour of strengthening their relationship once more.

A year ago it was far from uncommon to hear the GCs of large international companies say that, while they battled to stay within a shrinking budget, their trusted advisers showed a surprising detachment from economic reality and a lack of empathy with their clients’ financial situation. Continue reading “Global 100: The client view”

In-house: Facebook and Diageo fill top GC roles

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Social networking giant Facebook and global drinks brand Diageo both this week announced appointments to fill their top legal positions.

Facebook confirmed yesterday (20 June) that it has appointed Colin Stretch to succeed company general counsel (GC) Ted Ullyot as vice president and general counsel from 5 July, following Ullyot’s announcement in May that he would be stepping down. Continue reading “In-house: Facebook and Diageo fill top GC roles”

Bluechips continue to grow legal teams as buyside lawyers shift from external counsel

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Bluechips continue to grow legal teams as buyside lawyers shift from external counsel

In-house departments are expanding rapidly and overshadowing private practice growth as corporates plan to further bolster their internal legal capability.

Both recent statistics and developments on the ground indicate that corporates are increasingly addressing issues such as regulatory and compliance pressures, as well as budgetary restraints, by expanding their internal capabilities.

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PROFILE: Kirsty Cooper and Monica Risam – Aviva

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Legal Business meets Aviva’s senior lawyers as they discuss the effects of a major restructuring.

For those lawyers comfortable with the status quo within Aviva’s legal team, it has been a turbulent 18 months.

The FTSE 100 insurance giant has been plagued since the start of the financial crisis by poor financial performance, disparate businesses across the globe, and lower capital reserves than its competitors. Shareholders had lost confidence in former chief executive Andrew Moss, which is why Aviva is now run by the man credited with turning round the fortunes of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

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Feeling the squeeze – the pressure is on as procurement hits law

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With non-legal procurement teams becoming more and more part of the bluechip panel process, are firms delivering the best value for money?

`The client is the enemy,’ says one veteran corporate partner at a Magic Circle firm, privately expressing a common frustration over how the traditional relationship between external counsel and in-house legal teams has been battered by the latter’s post-downturn quest for value.

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UK Green Investment Bank welcomes Pinsents McVicar as MacRitchie moves on

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The formal establishment of the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has had a domino effect on senior counsel moves as the government funded initiative’s hunt for a general counsel (GC) comes to a successful close with the hire of rated Pinsents Masons energy partner Euan McVicar.

McVicar, who specialises in the financing and development of energy projects, will join the sustainable project investment bank in late summer 2013, although no specific date has yet been given.

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All change at Shell – legal head pushes through shake-up and puts final touches to global panel review

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While the trend of in-house departments bolstering their internal capability and cutting reliance on external counsel is well established, Royal Dutch Shell’s legal head Peter Rees QC has taken the logic to the extreme.

Since replacing Beat Hess as the global energy group’s legal director in January 2011 Rees has pushed through major changes, restructuring Shell’s around 750-lawyer department and kicking off a far-reaching global panel review. Continue reading “All change at Shell – legal head pushes through shake-up and puts final touches to global panel review”

In-house moves: Glencore and RSA announce senior appointments

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Glencore Xstrata has promoted former Glencore general counsel (GC) Richard Marshall as its overall head of legal in the wake of its $66bn merger.

Marshall joined Glencore in 2005, having worked at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft. He moved to the firm’s London office from the Sydney office of Mallesons Stephen Jacques where he had been a partner since 1984.

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