WINNERS

• 1st - Trevor Faure, Tyco
When Trevor Faure joined Tyco from computer manufacturer Dell in September 2004, the conglomerate was still reeling from an accounting scandal in the US. Four years later and the company is held up as a beacon of compliance and the methods of its legal department are being studied at Harvard.
Tyco’s Europe, Middle East and Africa general counsel Faure has recruited a whole new team, overseen a three-way split of the company and invented a whole new in-house methodology that has aimed to eliminate the tension between in-house and outside counsel.
Faure’s SMARTER legal model has not just revolutionised the way that Tyco’s legal department works. It has revolutionised the way that Tyco’s main law firm Eversheds works. Its influence is being felt at other in-house departments and at many of Eversheds’ rivals, which are looking at how they can offer the same service. In addition to all of this, Faure has been an innovative force in the fight for a more diverse profession.

• 2nd - Miller McLean, RBS
There is no doubt that the £50.2bn sale of ABN Amro to a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland was one of the M&A deals of 2007. For general counsel and RBS lifer, Miller McLean, it was a project that required the multi-jurisdictional marshalling of whole battalions of lawyers from external firms, notably Linklaters as well as the bank’s considerable in-house team. Following the successful closing of the epic takeover, McLean will find himself head of a team of 650 after the integration of ABN Amro’s operations into RBS. The deal’s successful closing is a testament to McLean’s considerable legal, and business, skills.

• 3rd - Phil Michaels, Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth legal chief, Phil Michaels, is a champion of the Freedom of Information Act. Michaels has held the government to account on the numerous occasions that it has attempted to shy away from the legislation. In May, he won a landmark victory against the government forcing it to disclose the previously secret records of lobbying by business the group the Confederation of British Industry.
Michaels leads the environmental pressure group’s lobbying campaigns, refusing to bow to the pressures of big business when it comes to issues such as carbon emissions and genetically modified foods. Michaels sets an example for others to follow.

This award is for senior in-house lawyers and entries are welcomed from both large or small teams.

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

• How the candidate has aligned the legal strategy to enhance overall company performance
• Innovation and best practice
• Team management (where appropriate) or management of external advisers

Entries welcome from:
In-house teams	√
Nominations by private practice	√
Nominations by chambers / barristers	√

Previous Winners:
2007	Debbie D'Aubney, HSBC
2006	Merlie Calvert, De Beers
2005	Robert Armour, British Energy Group
2004	Julia Braybrook, The Sunday Telegraph
2003	David Melville, Freeserve