Levi's chief Euro counsel quits

Levi-Strauss' chief European counsel is leaving his position later this year - after falling out of love with Brussels.
Scott Squillace is in discussions with several multinational companies as to where his future might lie.
After waiting 18 months for a senior legal position to come up in the US, Squillace has decided to look outside the global clothing company for opportunities.
He declines to name any of the companies involved, but confirmed that they were multinationals and that he would definitely be staying in the in-house sector.
His position will be filled by Rosanna Neagle who is coming over from Levi's headquarters in San Francisco where she is currently associate general counsel.
"She has a young family and is keen for them to experience Europe for a few years."
He also adds that in recent weeks Levi's has lost over a third of its in-house legal team due to the company's difficulties.
"Worldwide we have had to lay off 25 per cent of our staff. In Brussels we have lost one member of our five member team, who has decided to leave but will not be replaced.
"For our global legal team we have lost six out of 16. We outsource most of our work because it is mostly litigation work which we need foreign lawyers to do.
"Our business is fairly straightforward - we make jeans and it is a private company so we don't have the public company issues regarding financing," says Squillace.
In response to queries about why he has decided to leave, Squillace asks: "How long have you spent in Brussels? I tell my American friends that Brussels is a great place for a weekend but you wouldn't want to live here. I don't want my tombstone to say 'he had a good job'. I am really tired of Brussels."
The amount of work the company outsources has also been severely cut back with less "proactive" work being undertaken, says Squillace. Although the number of firms the company uses has not been reduced, each firm is getting less work.
Levi's works exclusively with Baker & McKenzie in the UK, and also uses the same company in France, along with Gide Loyrette. In Spain work goes to Mullerat & Roca.
Squillace moved to Levi's in 1993 from US firm Skadden Arps, for whom he worked in the Paris office with a brief period in Moscow.