The lawyer at the heart of a telecoms transformation
“It’s exhausting living with constant change and movement – but it is always forward movement and that replenishes your energy.”
Susy Bullock: the lawyer with a ringside seat for UBS’s courtroom fights
In 2013, Susy Bullock went on a secondment to UBS from Gibson Dunn. Four-and-a-half years later, she’s the bank’s EMEA litigation head.
From Linklaters to Lucozade: The new GC at the drinks giant
Lucozade GC Mary Guest has been keeping an eye on looming sugar tax and GDPR requirements while undertaking a panel review.
The Crown Estate GC: ‘triangular conversations create value’
GC Rob Booth says including specialists in conversations with lawyers is the best way to build value for the real estate company
Class actions, strikes and asset valuations – life for a university pensions lawyer
University pension scheme lawyer Louise Howard talks about her job looking after the pensions of 350 higher education and research institutions
Bayer’s head of legal: keeping things fresh after 17 years in the hot seat
Early in 2001, The Lawyer reported the move of Oxford University Press lawyer Mark Wilkinson to pharmaceutical giant Bayer. Wilkinson was tasked with setting up the legal department of Bayer’s UK arm; a role that has seen him grow the function ten-fold and form an integral part of the company’s 800-strong global law patents and […]
Barclays summons firms to ‘panel day’ ahead of final decision
Barclays has invited 22 firms to a panel day in July, ahead of the final announcement of its last ever formal panel review.
HMRC appoints interim GC after Aitken’s departure
HMRC has named in-house lawyer David Bunting to replace Gill Aitken as director general of the solicitor’s office and legal services group on an interim basis. Bunting will report to HMRC chief executive Jon Thompson from 1 July while an open recruitment process is conducted to find Aitken’s permanent replacement. Bunting is expected to step […]
Amec Foster Wheeler GC resurfaces after company’s £2bn takeover
Former FTSE250 listed Amec Foster Wheeler general counsel Alison Yapp will join catering business Compass Group as group general counsel and company secretary. Her move comes as current GC Mark White announced his plans to retire on 30 September following an 11-year stint in the business’s top legal role. Yapp left Amec Foster Wheeler following […]
Department for International Trade hunts for first Brexit-focused GC
The Department for International Trade (DIT) is seeking its first general counsel for the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), a public body set up to defend UK businesses against unfair trading practices after Brexit. The chosen GC will be a member of the TRA’s senior management team and will play a role in the overall leadership […]
Westfield GC exits retail giant after £18.5bn takeover
Westfield general counsel Leon Shelley will step down from his role at the end of the month, following Unibail-Rodamco’s completed acquisition of the Westfield business.
RSA legal head re-emerges after two year hiatus
RSA’s former general cousel Derek Walsh has resurfaced at Jardine Lloyd Thompson after a two year hiatus from the legal industry. Walsh joins insurance company JLT as its group general counsel and will also become a member of the group executive committee. He replaces Keith Johnson in the role; Johnson joined JLT in 2014 from […]
BNP Paribas ends panel review with new adviser lineup
BNP Paribas has finished reviewing its roster of global legal advisers appointing a number of firms to the panel, The Lawyer understands. Firms believed to have made it onto the roster include Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Clifford Chance. Local French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel also retained its place, alongside Herbert […]
Crown Commercial Service kicks off £320m panel review
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has kickstarted the tender process for a new £320m roster, inviting firms to bid for a place to provide commercial legal services to the UK public sector. The CCS opened the tender for the Wider Public Sector Legal Services (which was previously called Legal Services Marketplace) last October. It announced a five […]
UBS weighs up new formal EMEA litigation panel launch
UBS EMEA head of litigation Susy Bullock is deliberating whether to formalise a legal panel for the investment bank’s work in the region to mirror those already in place the Americas and Asia Pacific. The panel would be Bullock’s first in the role after having joined UBS from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher as an associate […]
Seven firms land roles on Co-op new restructured panel
Fieldfisher and Squire Patton Boggs have won roles on the Co-operative Group’s restructured legal panel, joining incumbent firm Allen & Overy and a line-up of reappointed firms. Addleshaw Goddard, Pinsent Masons, Hill Dickinson, Brodies and southeast firm Paris Smith, have all preserved their panel seats for a further three-year term. In the Co-op Group’s first review […]
Four firms gain spots on Nuclear Decommissioning Authority panel
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has appointed Eversheds Sutherland, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons, and Gowling WLG to its reviewed legal panel, The Lawyer can reveal. All of the firms on the present lineup have advised the NDA on previous panels according to data from The Lawyer, except Gowling WLG, which is a new addition. The only firm […]
Eight firms win EDF panel spots as roster drops 50%
Energy company EDF Energy has completed its panel review, cutting its roster down by nearly 50 per cent to eight firms. Freshly-merged firms Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang are new additions to the panel, The Lawyer can reveal. When the wheels of the review were still in rotation, BCLP […]
Lawyers shouldn’t play safe, they should take the lead
What does the term “progressive” mean to in-house lawyers? GCs explain how they build their in-house legal teams.
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Business ethics and the modern GC: How to navigate public scrutiny
Should in-house lawyers do the legal thing or the ethical thing? – there can be a subtle difference. Lawyers from UK companies tell how they balance business ethics, high public expectations and legal exactitude. Lisa Mayhew, BLP: You all work in very different businesses in multiple jurisdictions, so there are varying legislative, social and cultural issues. […]
GC2B event: How to build a progressive in-house team
The turning of a new calendar year sees a fresh set of challenges on the horizon for busy GC teams.
Succession planning for GCs – recruitment, career progression and managing mature teams
How can GCs attract the appropriate talent and keep the lawyers in their teams motivated? Panellists at the GC2B roundtable provide insight as well as practical ideas on managing teams in-house. Participants Alex Williamson, head of FRM legal, Man Group Sally-Ann James, general counsel, Metro Bank Ian Jameson, managing director and general counsel EMEA, Sumitomo […]
GC2B event: The role of GC in managing business ethics and integrity
There is mounting evidence that ethical businesses have the edge, but doing the right thing isn’t always as simple as doing what is legal. How should GCs manage business ethics? The role of the GC has come of age over the last decade. While the issues sitting in your inbox are more diverse, complex and […]
BLM’s tech revolution: Why we restructured the firm
BLM is striving to become more efficient by investing in technology and pushing through some difficult internal restructures
Travers Smith’s Dunkirk spirit during an 18-month office overhaul
Travers Smith has not moved offices. It has not abandoned its treasured room-sharing system for open plan. But someone walking into 10 Snow Hill, where Travers has been based since 1990, would be forgiven for thinking they had lost their way. The firm has recently completed a total refurbishment of its offices, all while keeping […]
Business services case study: How Ince went agile
Changing the policies at a traditional firm brought quick dividends.
The virtual lawyer cutting costs at AXA
Kennedys brought a tool to AXA to help streamline the claims process – and the cost savings were immediate
Shoosmiths Manchester: how tech turbocharged productivity
How Shoosmiths completely changed the way its lawyers work
Network Rail challenge: 100 changes in 100 days
How do you drive efficiency and create engagement in a dispersed team? Get them to suggest small changes.
Spanish soccer league app accused of spying to crack down on football piracy
By Alex Towers and Leo Moore The Spanish Data Protection watchdog (AEPD) has begun a preliminary probe into the official app for Spanish football league, La Liga, which allows them access to the microphones and GPS of users’ smartphones with the aim of potentially identifying showings of football games in the vicinity of the user […]
Hasbro granted trade mark right to distinctive Play-Doh scent
By Leo Moore and Ella Woolfson Toy giant Hasbro has become the latest company to join the small group of brands with a registered scent mark in the United States Patent and Trademark Office…
EU workers: ‘simple’ process to stay in UK post-Brexit
By Helen Burgess With 3.8 million EU citizens in the UK, according to ONS figures, employers have rightly been concerned about maintaining a stable workforce in the lead up to and post-Brexit. Good news is however afoot. Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced that EU citizens will have to answer three ‘simple’ questions online (or […]
PLMJ – Moazambique: Regulations on advertising of financial products and services
By Télio Murrure and Nacita Chirindza The Central Bank has approved the Regulations on Advertising of Financial Products and Services (Regulamento sobre a Publicidade de Produtos e Serviços Financeiros – “RPPSF”), which is an integral part of Notice no. 3/GBM/2018 of 18 April. This is the first instrument addressing this matter in the Mozambican legal system. […]
Rectification of the terms of a private equity financing transaction
Terra Firma has successfully obtained rectification of the terms of a private equity financing transaction completed in 2012, concerning the Four Seasons care homes business [FSHC Group Holdings Limited v Barclays Bank Plc]. The transaction required the Parent company to provide security over a particular shareholder loan which was part of the overall funding package. […]
New opportunity for permanent residency in Alberta
By Krista Schofer The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) recently announced highly anticipated changes to its permanent residency program. Effective June 14, 2018, the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) is available as a potential path to permanent residency in the province. The AOS replaces the Employer-Driven Stream and Strategic Recruitment Stream under the AINP. The AOS […]
Global skills strategy update GTS occupations list
By Lesley A Love The Global Skills Strategy is a pilot project launched by IRCC in June 2017. The program is designed to give Canadian employers quicker access to highly qualified global talent. Changes were recently announced to one part of the GSS, as outlined below. Employers using the program should be aware of these changes…
Government prescription: Tackling the late payment epidemic
By Tom Pemberton Efforts to tackle the issue so far have been little more than “nudging” techniques to pay more promptly. Is the government ready to ramp up the campaign?
All fair in love, war and commerce
By Jonathan Haydn-Williams The traditional position under the contract law of England and Wales (which I shall, with no disrespect to Wales, refer to as ‘English’ law) has been that, save for contracts giving rise to a fiduciary relationship (eg a contract between agent and principal), a duty of good faith in the performance of […]
Regulatory round-up – June 2018
This regulatory round-up newsletter includes: Consumer and retail finance Data protection Health and safety
Landlord’s threats of legal action amounted to harassment of tenant
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd v Worthington (1) and Parkin (2) alerts landlords to the risk of their dealings with tenants amounting to unlawful harassment. Housing Management and Litigation experts Karl Anders and Lucie Bryan explain and offer practical advice, which will be of particular interest for social housing providers […]
Cabot SPR appeal: A welcome outcome for unsecured lenders in Scotland
Walker Morris partner Rob Aberdein explains an appeal allowed by the Sheriff Appeal Court which clarifies that the “interventionist and problem-solving approach” required of sheriffs under the new Simple Procedure Rules Simple Procedure Rules (SPR) for low value claims does not extend to undefended claims. The appeal concerned a number of test cases and will […]
EU’s controversial proposals on digital economy taxation
By Jan Bart Schober Proposals for an ‘interim’ solution and the concept of a ‘significant digital presence’ will be contentious, with the US likely to be particularly strongly opposed…
Webinar: Automated fee monitoring – time to stop poring over invoices
This webinar is designed for General Counsel and Legal Operations professionals Date: Thursday 28th June | Time: 4.00pm – 4.45pm BST More often than not in-house lawyers rely on a manual process of reviewing a number of invoices from multiple law firms, in various places, before having to collate and make sense of the data […]
Dress code dilemmas: new guidance on discriminatory dress codes published
On 18 May 2018 the Government Equalities Office published the guidance “Dress codes and sex discrimination – what you need to know” aimed at employers who “set dress codes” and “employees and job applicants who may have to abide by them”. It states that it is to explain the law on dress codes in workplaces […]
Breaking down the Handbook: Email, internet and social media policies
By Helen Burgess This instalment of Breaking Down the Handbook series looks at email, internet and social media policies, in particular considering why employers should have them, what they should contain and what the pitfalls are in drafting and applying such policies…
Is test for unfair dismissal in conduct cases going to change?
Does Burchell face an uncertain future? Arnold J’s ruling in British Home Stores Ltd v Burchell has been followed and applied for nearly 40 years but are things about to change following Baroness Hale’s obiter comments in Reilly v Sandwell Metropolitan Council? Anthony Korn highlights some of the problems, explores the options and assesses the […]