In-house hires – TSB appoints Post Office GC as legal head as Mercedes-Benz fills top spot

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Following its split from Lloyds, TSB Bank has announced the appointment of former Post Office general counsel (GC) Susan Crichton as its new legal chief, leading the newly separated bank’s legal function in the New Year as it moves towards an initial public offering (IPO).

Crichton played a key role in the Post Office’s separation from Royal Mail, before which she was legal, governance and risk director at Skandia International between 2008 and 2010, and GC at General Electric (GE) Money and Consumer Finance between 1999 and 2008. Continue reading “In-house hires – TSB appoints Post Office GC as legal head as Mercedes-Benz fills top spot”

Moscow team hire: Goltsblat BLP take on real estate trio from Akin Gump

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Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has bolstered its global real estate capability with the hire of a rated three partner team from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s Moscow office.

The team, which is set to join Goltsblat BLP in mid-January 2014, includes the current head of Akin Gump’s real estate practice in Russia, Vladislav Sourkov, who will be joined by his colleagues Rustam Aliev and Dmitry Maltsev. Sourkov is described by The Legal 500 as ‘dedicated, experienced, and very driven on client service’. Continue reading “Moscow team hire: Goltsblat BLP take on real estate trio from Akin Gump”

In-house: Transocean finds replacement general counsel after year-long search

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Swiss-based offshore drilling contractor Transocean has appointed a new general counsel (GC) and senior vice president over a year after former legal chief Nick Deeming left the role.

Former GC, vice president legal affairs and secretary of Swedish-American automotive safety systems manufacturer Autoliv, Lars Sjöbring, will join Transocean next year when his current notice period expires.

Prior to joining Autoliv in 2007, Sjöbring – who has master of law degrees in Sweden, the Netherlands and the US – held the role of senior legal counsel and subsequently director legal, M&A at Nokia since joining the telecoms group in 2003.

Continue reading “In-house: Transocean finds replacement general counsel after year-long search”

Reed Smith set for record year in London thanks to lateral push and sector focus

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David Stevenson reports on Reed Smith’s evolution into credible global contender

For a 1,500-lawyer, top-30 Global 100 firm, Reed Smith has a habit of quietly getting on with its business. This is despite having conducted three mergers since 2001; grown by around one jurisdiction a year; and made a series of high-profile City hires as it builds out from its core shipping and litigation foundations in the UK – in so doing significantly boosting its 2013 London revenues.

The resignation in October of global managing partner Greg Jordan was a rare senior departure for the nearly 700-partner law firm, which in London this year hired Clifford Chance (CC) structured finance and derivatives partner Claude Brown (after hiring his former colleague Peter Zaman in 2012); McDermott Will & Emery City energy partner Rashpaul Bahia; and DLA Piper media partner Askandar Samad.

Continue reading “Reed Smith set for record year in London thanks to lateral push and sector focus”

Supply and demands – will the cheap talent run out for GCs in 2014?

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With rising demand for in-house counsel, bluechip legal teams are hunting for talented lawyers. Legal Business surveys the recruitment outlook.

‘I do get asked “Why are you outsourcing work when you’ve got such a large team?”,’ says David Symonds, general counsel (GC) for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Tyco International.‘Of course, the reality is, when you look at benchmarking data, my team is actually two thirds of the size that it should be.’

Continue reading “Supply and demands – will the cheap talent run out for GCs in 2014?”

In-house: former Thomson Reuters group GC resurfaces at Rentokil

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The former Europe & Asia general counsel (GC) of global multimedia giant Thomson Reuters, Daragh Fagan, has resurfaced at UK-based support services company Rentokil Initial as group GC.

Following the merger of Thomson and Reuters in 2007, an $8.7bn deal that created the world’s largest provider of financial news and information, Fagan was appointed from legacy Reuters as GC for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, after joining from Italian energy group ENI in the summer of 2007.

Having been further appointed as GC for the Europe and Asia regions in January Fagan, a former Herbert Smith lawyer, departed the media giant in the summer and took up his new position at Rentokil, which offers a mix of services including pest control and workwear, in September.

Continue reading “In-house: former Thomson Reuters group GC resurfaces at Rentokil”

In-house: HMRC appoints DWP director Gill Aitken as new GC as Sir Hector Sants resigns from Barclays

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With a long pedigree in working for the government, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) director general Gill Aitken is to replace HM Revenue & Customs’ outgoing general counsel (GC) Anthony Inglese, the body announced today (13 November).

Aitken, who will replace Inglese when he retires in January after 38 years in the government legal service, has been director general of legal services at the DWP since October 2011, after joining the team the previous year. Continue reading “In-house: HMRC appoints DWP director Gill Aitken as new GC as Sir Hector Sants resigns from Barclays”

Lloyds Banking Group takes on Morgan Stanley lawyer to head litigation and contentious regulatory

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As Lloyds Banking Group makes a series of senior management hires it has emerged that the global financial institution has brought in Morgan Stanley lawyer Michael Hartridge to replace group litigation and contentious regulatory head Nicola Myatt, who has left the bank.

Following LBG’s takeover of UK banking group HBOS in 2008, Myatt was appointed to head the combined litigation team, having headed the same function at Lloyds. Continue reading “Lloyds Banking Group takes on Morgan Stanley lawyer to head litigation and contentious regulatory”

In-house round-up: High level moves at HMRC, Premium Credit, RSC and Time Inc.

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Senior in-house moves across the media, culture and financial services sectors have seen former Virgin Money legal director Jasan Fitzpatrick named general counsel (GC) at Premium Credit, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) hand interim GC Marina Zain a permanent role, former News Corp GC Lon Jacobs take up a deputy role at Time Inc. and HMRC’s GC Anthony Inglese prepare to retire.

Inglese, who has led HMRC’s 200-strong legal team since 2008, is set to retire in January 2014. Since joining the civil service in 1975 to train as a barrister, Inglese has spent his entire 38-year career in public service, working in seven government departments and heading five of them. Continue reading “In-house round-up: High level moves at HMRC, Premium Credit, RSC and Time Inc.”

Ashurst corporate head Stephen Lloyd quits in set-back for Anglo-Australian giant

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Ashurst global head of corporate Stephen Lloyd has resigned in a move that comes within weeks of a vote for full financial integration with its Australian partner Blake Dawson and post-merger management elections.

Lloyd (pictured), who in July was appointed as co-head of the united firms’ corporate, commercial and competition team alongside Sydney-based Phil Breden, became the legacy Ashurst global head of corporate in 2010. Continue reading “Ashurst corporate head Stephen Lloyd quits in set-back for Anglo-Australian giant”