Power brokers

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As all eyes turn to energy as the safe hedge in a turbulent market, there is no doubt that the sector’s general counsel are in an excellent bargaining position

In terms of legal spend, an energy company is a particularly lucrative client. To begin with, the acquisitive nature of these cash-rich corporates means that transactional advice is clearly a must. Also, as the recent BP oil spill all too effectively demonstrated, the high-risk nature of the industry provides a fair flow of environmental and litigation instructions too.

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Real estate – In The House

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In the first of a series of looks at the UK’s top in-house lawyers, LB profiles a few GCs who are turning heads in the property market

There was a time when private practice lawyers looked down their noses at their in-house counterparts. The logic went that in-housers had swapped the fat fees of private practice for an easier life that would let them get home in time for tea. But not anymore. Over the past few years, the role of the in-house lawyer has grown from taking a back seat to outside counsel to becoming the true powerbrokers in their respective fields. 

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Sole adviser – Having it all

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Baker & McKenzie, Eversheds and Berwin Leighton Paisner are just a few firms synonymous with adopting the one-client-one-law-firm model, but just who benefits from these deals in the long run?

Robin Saphra’s life got a little easier at the start of the year. The Colt Group’s general counsel (GC), like many of his peers, was juggling a legal spend, that he had to stretch across more than a hundred European law firms.

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Under review

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Over the past decade panels have defined the relationship between law firms and the major banks. But as the nature of those relationships shifts, panels are becoming even more important

Mark Harding insists there’s been a shift of power. ‘Previously, with a lot of work, the boot was always on the law firm foot,’ Barclays’ general counsel asserts. ‘Now the boot is on the other foot.’ Coming from one of the most senior GCs in the City, head of a 900-strong in-house team with a legal spend of £100m, it’s something to take note of. Continue reading “Under review”