Sodexo’s Ingo Koehler-Bartels on the challenges ahead in new Euro GC role
Food and facilities giant Sodexo is on the brink of a major regional reorganisation, and GC Ingo Koehler-Bartels is the lynchpin
OVH’s legal chief on outgunning the US internet giants
OVH’s legal chief is scathing of the US’s new data privacy laws, adding that his European internet provider company is a worthy challenger to the likes of Google.
IDEO’s Rebecca Wint: My life as a lawyer among creatives
How do you get creatives to engage with the rule of law? Appeal to their sense of curiosity, says design consultancy IDEO’s Rebecca Wint.
The barrister turned codebreaker helping tech start-ups break the mould
Legal tech company Mattereum’s GC helps start-ups with his cryptography skills and draws on his Bar background for disputes matters.
How the FT’s legal team helped unveil the Presidents Club scandal
When the FT broke the story about the Presidents Club charity event, its lawyers were there to advise from the start.
E-signatures company GC: ‘My legal advisers are my friends’
E-signatures company DocuSign is growing fast, as is the remit of genial GC Reggie Davis.
The 60 second interview: Need new ways to motivate your team? Ask them
GSK’s assistant general counsel talks to The Lawyer about the steps she takes to avoid disappointment in the mentor-mentee relationship.
KFC legal chief becomes WeWork’s first ever European GC
WeWork has appointed Sarah Nelson Smith as its first ever European general counsel, as it ramps up its legal capabilities outside the US. Nelson Smith, who was The Lawyer’s in-house lawyer of the year in 2014, joins the collaborative workspace giant from KFC, where she acted as European chief legal officer. When it started the hunt in April, WeWork […]
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Mothercare scraps GC role as fifth in four years departs
Mothercare has scrapped its general counsel position following the departure of Alice Darwall, who was acting as group general counsel and company secretary. The Mothercare in-house legal team has been in flux for the past few years; Darwall left the business in June 2018 after eight months. She replaced Andrew Eames, who was acting as […]
Partners Group hands panel places to cohort of PE firms
Investment manager Partners Group has appointed a number of US and UK-headquartered firms to its panel, including Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins, The Lawyer understands. Partners Group last undertook a review in 2016, in which the magic circle firm secured a place as one of the company’s core legal advisers. Two key deals for Clifford Chance […]
Three firms win Sodexo panel work in regional overhaul
French hospitality giant Sodexo has named a trio of firms to handle work across its European business,The Lawyer has learned.
Premier Foods fills GC gap with new hire
Premier Foods has brought in a new general counsel after the departure of Andrew McDonald to Interserve earlier this year. Simon Rose joins the food company as its new legal chief after 15 years at United Biscuits, where he managed a team of six. Premier Foods owns brands such as Oxo, Homepride and Sharwoods. At United […]
Coca-Cola takes scythe to panel with over 70 firms cut
Bottling giant Coca-Cola European Partners has drastically reduced the size of its legal roster, selecting nearly 30 advisers from a panel of over 100. The panel is the first to be carried out under the leadership of general counsel Clare Wardle, who joined from Kingfisher in 2016. She joined the company a year after it […]
Heathrow to unveil new panel as battle looms over third runway
A host of firms are awaiting Heathrow Airport’s decision on its panel firms, with the construction of its controversial £14bn third runway set to reel in rich pickings for the chosen providers. Heathrow is currently in the early stages of a review of its core legal panel, which will cover general commercial work relating to contracts, […]
Clydes replaced by insurance rival on London boroughs panel
Five firms have won spots on the freshly reviewed Insurance London Consortium (ILC) panel, servicing work to seven of the capital city’s boroughs until 2023. BLM, Browne Jacobson, DAC Beachcroft, DWF and Plexus Law will share the £7.5m-valued panel for the next five years with Clyde & Co the only major casualty from the last […]
Firms await fate as Rolls-Royce nears panel decision
Rolls-Royce has invited firms to bid for a place on its global legal panel, five years after it last reshuffled its roster, The Lawyer can reveal. The Lawyer understands that firms were first invited to submit their bids in March, with the deadline fast approaching. The panel process has been kept highly confidential, with firms required to […]
Fourteen firms win top roles on Pearson’s revamped roster
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills and Goodwin Procter have all won panel spots on Pearson’s legal roster.
Morrisons completes phase one of new two-step panel review
Wm Morrisons has appointed a number of firms to its roster, The Lawyer understands.
GC2B: Managing external and internal legal teams in a global world
At The Lawyer‘s recent General Counsel Strategy Summit, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BLCP) hosted a round table on the topic ‘managing external and internal legal teams in a global world’, talking about the shaping of legal resources to business objectives, structures and diversity. BCLP partners Jonathan Morris & Rémy Blain led nine senior in-house lawyers […]
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 […]
Tackling the problem of female talent retention – A&O-style
One of the biggest issues facing law firms is the retention of female talent. Allen & Overy is working on solving the problem.
Litigation too bespoke to pin down on price? HSF didn’t think so
HSF has adapted the fixed fees approach used for transactional work to the much less predictable world of disputes
Pinsents and Everton FC: advice from a law firm, with no lawyers required
While the provision of legal advice is central to any law firm, many are branching out into other areas. One recent project taken on by Pinsent Masons for football club Everton was notable because it had little to no involvement from lawyers. Instead, it was managed from start to finish by the firm’s dedicated legal […]
DLA Piper’s offices overhaul: If you’re going open-plan for costs, you’re doing it wrong
DLA Piper’s recent office overhauls in Australia, Manchester and next London are not about cramming more people in.
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 […]
Video: How to health check the anatomy of your legal matters
By Rob MacAdam With clients expecting more efficiency, transparency and value from their lawyers, it’s time for law firms to re-engineer their legal service delivery into real competitive advantage. In this video, Rob MacAdam, Director of Legal Solutions, identifies six elements that make up the anatomy of a legal matter, and discusses what improvements can be […]
Updates on proportionality of costs in court proceedings
By Gwendoline Davies, Claire Acklam Anyone involved in the conduct of litigation will be aware that the ‘overriding objective’, at rule 1.1 (1) of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), requires cases to be dealt with “justly and at proportionate cost”. Unfortunately, the question of what is proportionate continues to cause confusion and dispute. In this latest […]
Women on Boards – As they progress, businesses thrive
By Susana Almeida Lopes Women represent 50% of the working population and are as much or more educated and qualified as men are. However, the problem of gender diversity (or lack of it), especially in top positions in organisations, is a persistent societal problem, and there are (many) studies that, if concrete measures are not taken, […]
Franchise resales – should franchisors be involved?
By Emma Lusty It is a common misconception that a franchise network with a high level of resales is a bad sign. In fact, a healthy resale market is a good sign. It means that franchisees are able to build up profitable businesses which can be sold to recover a return on their initial investment and […]
New EU directive – How will it affect family-related leave in Hungary?
By Daniel Gera, Dorottya Gindl Gender equality may be a core EU principle, but it will not become a reality without effective legal action. To meet the EU objective of reaching a 75% employment rate for both men and women by 2020, the European Commission aims to change the existing legal framework. Thus, the European […]
Higher Dutch VAT rate on several LS-products
By Luca van Silfhout, Patrick Vettenburg A number of goods and services, listed in an annex to the Dutch VAT Act, qualify for the reduced VAT rate (instead of the regular VAT rate of currently 21%). Among these goods and services are: qualifying medicines, first-aid type supplies such as bandages and qualifying medical aids such […]
US raises bar for International Development Finance
By Paul M. Murphy, Mark McAuley Overview: The United States seems to be raising the bar for International Development Finance with the proposed BUILD Act. Through the proposed creation of a new U.S. Government institution, the International Development Finance Corporation, the US looks to create a new paradigm for the developing world – in direct response to […]
How protectionism could affect technology
The technology we increasingly rely on every day such as phones, tablets and personal computers are made up of different components. These components and other parts are made using raw materials that can be found in countries all over the world. Materials including aluminium, lithium and cobalt have been listed by the World Bank as […]
Promotion of indigenous R&D in pharmaceutical industry by the Delhi High Court
By Ajay Bhargava, Arvind Kumar Ray, Karan Gupta In the recent case of Modi-Mundipharma Private Limited v Union of India & Ors., (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 11802 of 2016), the High Court of Delhi (Court) has clarified that incremental innovation or novel drug delivery systems like lipid / liposomal formulations, sustained release, controlled release, etc. should […]
Lawyers’ presence ensured during a competition investigation, but with riders
By Sagardeep Rathi, Pranjal Prateek, Ebaad Khan In a case connected to the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) cartel investigation in the conveyor belt market, an appellate bench of the Delhi High Court (Court) (LPA 607/2016; Judgment dated 24 May 2018) has confirmed a single judge bench judgment of the Court (WP(C) 11411 of 2015; Judgment […]
The digital era – Time to re-imagine your business
Last year, the UK was named the least productive European nation in the G7 and latest figures suggest that things have not improved; in fact, some claim these productivity challenges are one of the biggest economic threats facing Britain. At the same time, the intense and constant pace of change caused by the digital era […]
Lending money to family and friends? Read this first
By David Asker Key considerations when lending money We’ve looked at some of the key questions you should be asking if you are thinking of lending money. The first consideration you need to make is: can you afford to lend them the sum they need? And if so, when will you need the money repaid […]
GDPR risks for retailers
By Jeanette Burgess, Gwendoline Davies Much of the focus in the retail and legal press in recent months has been on the eye-watering level of fines which data protection regulators can impose for infringements of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation. However in this mini-series Walker Morris’ Heads of Regulatory & Compliance and […]
Franchise resales – should franchisors be involved?
By Emma Lusty It is a common misconception that a franchise network with a high level of resales is a bad sign. In fact, a healthy resale market is a good sign. It means that franchisees are able to build up profitable businesses which can be sold to recover a return on their initial investment and […]
Putting data to work in the practice of law
By Nicholas d’Adhemar Technology is dramatically changing the practice of law. Big data, machine learning, smart contracts and Artificial Intelligence are all making the assimilation and interpretation of large amounts of unstructured data much easier. Some doom-mongers see this as the end of the traditional practice of law. We believe, rather, that the trend will be […]
Supreme Court: Partial transitional payment when reducing the employee’s working hours
By Lucas Hoogervorst, Maureem in Poel The Supreme Court ruled last Friday that, in short, a partial amendment of an existing employment contract in circumstances that have to be borne by the employer, may result in the payment of a partial transition payment. This concerns the special case that, due to circumstances, is forced to proceed […]