Lost in translation – can regulators respond to the rise of in-house?

As the SRA prepares to overhaul its handbook, we ask whether its new focus on in-house will be enough to help tackle the ethical issues general counsel face.

‘There’s a serious danger of a regulator trying to regulate something that it doesn’t understand,’ says Kingfisher group general counsel (GC) and company secretary Clare Wardle. Her comment comes as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) works on another overhaul of its handbook, halfway through a two-year review that will end in 2017, a process that has clear plans to be more inclusive of the in-house profession.

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Less male, pale and private practice: Surging in-house and female lawyer ranks keep the profession expanding

The future of the profession looks increasingly female and focused away from the traditional domination of private practice according to the most comprehensive demographic picture of the profession.

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Revolving Doors: Freshfields, Dentons and Pinsents make key hires as Uber and Callcredit build in-house teams

Following a string of seven recent hires to its Advanced Manufacturing and Technology (AMT) sector, Pinsent Masons has boosted its corporate team with the appointment of TMT specialist Andrew McMillan to its AMT sector. Previously head of Simmons & Simmons TMT practice, McMillan brings experience in advising TMT corporates, investment banks and private equity houses on in-sector mergers and acquisitions and high-value commercial contracts.

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The finance view: Scaling up – GCs and finance partners get ready for the grind of ring-fencing reforms

Victoria Young assesses the approach to implementation of ring-fencing rules

Though the deadline for full implementation is over two years off, the looming threat of so-called ring-fencing reforms is already having a major impact on UK banking groups and their legal teams.

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News in brief – March 2016

EE LEGAL HEAD REVEALS PLANS POST-TELCO MERGER

Following BT’s high-profile £12.5bn takeover of UK mobile business EE, it has emerged the telco plans to consolidate external legal panels, while EE’s general counsel (GC) James Blendis has been appointed to BT’s legal leadership team. Blendis will now sit on BT’s legal leadership board, which comprises senior legal management, including group GC Dan Fitz.

 

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The Last Word: Divide and conquer

We canvassed City partners and in-house counsel for their views on the Law Society and the state of representation in the profession


LATE TO THE PARTY

‘I endorse what the Law Society is doing, particularly chief executive Catherine Dixon. What she’s doing to try to boost representation for the in-house community is laudable and to be encouraged. The difficulty it’s got is that it came to the game slightly later than others and it would admit that. If you look at the number of bodies and institutions that are there to assist in-house, they’re competing and therefore it makes life more difficult. My limited experience is the Law Society is doing the right thing. We would support them but there’s a long way to go.’

Robert Ivens, head of legal, Marks and Spencer

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Bringing it in-house: SRA to review litigation panel as regulator assesses internal function

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which is already keeping some firms busy with work as it bids for independence from the Law Society, has launched a review of its litigation panel amid a wider review of its own legal function.

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