Herbies lawyer heads for Wonga
The former partner who managed Herbert Smith’s relationship with European alliance firms Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe has left the firm for an in-house role at online lending company Wonga.com.
Corporate lawyer Henry Raine, who became a consultant at the firm in April last year, has taken on a newly created regulatory role at the company.
He will be joined by Lucy Vernall, currently managing partner of technology boutique Kemp Little, who will become Wonga’s first-ever general counsel.
Vernall, who joins the company in April, said: “[Wonga] is an IT company looking to disrupt the consumer credit space. They’ve been successful in their first phase and are looking to create a management structure. The general counsel role is part of this.”
Kemp Little will not be filling Vernall’s role, creating instead the position of chief operating officer.
The firm has tasked partners David Williams and Paul Garland, who both sit on the management board, with managing the handover.
