Moneysupermarket’s GC on transforming corporate culture
In a moment of frustration, Katherine Bellau decided she would be part of transforming the culture at Moneysupermarket Group.
Electricity North West GC Richard Somerville on facing chaos and change
These are uncertain times at Electricity North West, but GC Richard Somerville is on familiar territory
The future of a nation at stake: the life of a lawyer at a sovereign wealth fund
Being assistant GC of sovereign wealth fund GIC is rewarding, says Jarlath Pratt, but increased regulation and competition are adding to workload.
The Which? general counsel on the pressure to get everything done yesterday
General counsel Charmian Averty has found a satisfying blend of work at the charity championing the interests of consumers
Tessian’s sole lawyer on empowering the business, “ruthless prioritisation” and Brexit
As sole legal head at Tessian, Eva Camus-Smith focuses on efficiency to help the cybersecurity start-up expand.
TP ICAP’s general counsel on steering a company through change
TP ICAP’s GC Philip Price has earned a place on the board and believes lawyers should have the chance to expand their remit into other aspects of the business
Science Museum brings in new GC
The Science Museum has appointed a new general counsel, four months after its former GC moved to The National Gallery.
TaskRabbit kicks off search for first UK legal chief
IKEA-owned household chores management platform TaskRabbit is on the hunt for its first UK legal chief. The app, which allows users to hire strangers for household duties and day-to-day tasks, is looking to appoint a UK-based lawyer to lead a local team dealing with issues in the country and in Europe. The hire will report […]
Firms wanted for Met Police’s new £65m panel
The Metropolitan Police Service is retendering its national legal panel, with the extended framework worth up to £65m. Up to 15 firms will be appointed to the new framework, which will be made up of four lots. Around three firms will be allocated to each. The Met Police said the £65m figure noted in the […]
World Wildlife Fund appoints new GC
The World Wildlife Fund for Nature UK (WWF) is the latest charity to appoint a new general counsel. In a time of much movement within charity in-house legal teams, Zoe Ballantyne joins WWF as GC from Diabetes UK, where she was head of legal and compliance for two years. She replaces WWF’s former GC Andrew […]
Avis hands panel spots to seven firms
Car rental giant Avis has finalised a seven-strong panel of legal advisers following its first review in four years. The new roster has seen no firms left out. It includes Eversheds Sutherland, Dentons, Reed Smith, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and K&L Gates; US firms Littler Mendelson and Baker Donelson also made the cut. Each […]
Linklaters and Slaughters win panel places for Welsh Water
Linklaters, Eversheds Sutherland and Slaughter and May are among the ten firms to have secured contracts for DWR Cymru Cyfyngedig, or Welsh Water. A total of 24 contracts have been awarded – with six going to Eversheds. The firm has been awarded contracts in corporate, employment, competition, data protection, construction and health and safety. Both […]
FCA embarks on major shake-up for new legal panel
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is scrapping its current legal framework and consolidating its legal services into two lots for a new £2.15m panel. As part of the review, the FCA is seeking between 10 and 20 firms (five to 10 for each lot). Whereas it previously had separate contracts in place for individual requirements […]
Four firms join offshore renewable energy panel
The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult has selected four firms for its new procurement framework for legal services. DLA Piper, Burges Salmon, TLT and Shepherd & Wedderburn form ORE Catapult’s new legal procurement framework. Headquartered in Glasgow, ORE Catapult is a technology innovation and research centre for offshore renewable energy. Though it is not a […]
Seven firms in the spotlight for SSE panel review
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has launched its first panel review in five years. The “Big Six” energy company completed its first ever formal panel in 2014, with four firms – Addleshaw Goddard, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Osborne Clarke – winning the main spots. As well as a main panel for work […]
Slaughters and Osborne Clarke among 15 firms on FTSE broker panel
FTSE 250 interdealer broker company TP ICAP has finished its EMEA panel review, with fifteen firms winning a place on the company’s first formal roster. Slaughter and May and magic circle firms Allen & Overy and Linklaters have all won spots, as well as Herbert Smith Freehills, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith. Eversheds Sunderland has further secured a […]
Lloyds Bank wraps up latest review of legal advisers
Lloyds Bank has completed its latest panel review of its core advisers and general roster, with reductions being made to the latter line-up. The Lawyer understands that the core panel has been left in tact, with members including CMS, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills and Ashurst, as well as Addleshaw Goddard, Hogan Lovells, and magic […]
Novartis keeps firms waiting for results of global panel review
Swiss pharmaceutical powerhouse Novartis is nearing the end of its global legal panel review, which is understood to have been launched earlier this year. The panel is underway following the appointment of GC Shannon Thyme Klinger, who took on the role in June 2018, replacing Felix Ehrat. Her appointment came four months after Novartis also […]
GC2B: Turning uncertainty into high street success
Eleven GCs and legal counsel take part in a roundtable to discuss the future of the retail industry and how best to support businesses as they deal with the changing landscape
GC2B: Meeting the challenges of disaggregation
Ten GCs and legal counsel at a roundtable hosted by The Lawyer and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner discuss technology, alternative providers and what the future holds for in-house teams
GC2B roundtable: How customer expectations are shaping direction of the global real estate market
Fourteen GCs and senior counsel at a roundtable hosted by The Lawyer and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner discuss how the latest trends create challenges and opportunities for firms
GC2B: Creating the perfect business karma for success
How can you reshape an in-house team in the image you want it to be? This was just one of the issues up for debate at The Lawyer’s latest roundtable with BCLP.
GC2B: From fintechs to banks, tech gives in-house teams the chance to reinvent themselves
At a dinner in the shadow of London’s Tower Bridge, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) hosted a group of legal heads to discuss the topic of reinventing themselves and their teams in a technology-driven world. Responses were varied and the attendees came from enormously diverse business models, though the prevailing mood was one of necessary and […]
Case study: How Royal London rebooted its relationships with external firms
Royal London general counsel Fergus Speight tasked his team with hanging the legal function operating model. Solicitor Peter McCusker led the way, and collaborated with procurement to reboot relationships with external firms
How Simplyhealth’s GC transformed his in-house legal team
After joining insurance provider Simplyhealth in 2016, Jon Jansen-Alder, its general counsel and company secretary, embarked on a programme of transformation to align the legal team with the needs of the business
Case study: Southern Housing Group’s journey to a smoother legal function
Southern Housing Group is one of the oldest and largest housing associations in the country. This case study examines how its legal team tackled a series of claims and established smooth and collaborative working
Case study: how Cornerstone set up an agile team that made use of direct access to barristers
In-house lawyers at one infrastructure services company have responded to a new telecoms code by establishing direct relationships with barristers.
Baker McKenzie better together – the benefits of an open-plan office
With a big-ticket office move potentially on the horizon, Baker McKenzie was keen to trial new ways of working
Case study: How Norton Rose Fulbright turned to Japan to become more efficient
Norton Rose Fulbright has coupled a Japanese agile-working framework with automation software to dramatically cut document production time
Nine key pension issues you’ll have to deal with in 2020
By Ian Chapman-Curry, Jason Coates, Glyn Ryland At the beginning of 2019, we flagged uncertainty around how or even whether Brexit would be delivered. At the start of 2020, we finally seem to have some more clarity on this issue. Will 2020 finally be the year that the UK leaves the European Union? And will […]
LegalTech for corporate legal departments – A guide to choosing the right technology
With so much legal technology on offer, how are legal departments choosing the right technology? Neota Logic commissioned a research report for legal departments wanting to invest in new technology. The report accesses what is available and in use by legal departments across the globe to deduce the substance from the noise.
Legal design thinking demystified
What is Legal Design Thinking? Legal Design Thinking seems to be a trending term in the sector over the last few years but what does it actually mean? At Neota we approach the term as a combination of legal expertise, design and visual thinking but fundamentally, we ensure a human-centred approach is behind solving a […]
Why subsidiary boards are increasingly in the spotlight
There is a cultural shift to allow effective decision-making at entity level to be embedded in the values of medium-sized and large organisations
McCloud/Sargeant case: Government denied permission to appeal
By Paul Carney, Jenny Farrell The Supreme Court has denied the government permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment that transitional provisions introduced to the Judicial Pension Scheme (JPS) and Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FPS) constituted unlawful age discrimination. Background In 2011, the Hutton report recommended reforms to public service pension schemes, which included a […]
The employer’s obligation on labour safety and hygiene in Mongolia
Mongolia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world of mineral resources and has developed its own independent mining industry since 1990. The country has joined the implementation of European and international technical, environmental and occupational safety and health standards in the mining sector to improve its competitiveness in the public and private sector. […]
Customs and trade – What should your Brexit planning cover?
As we edge closer to the UK’s planned exit date from the EU, 31 October 2019, it’s crucial for importers and exporters to understand the potential customs implications for their businesses – whatever the outcome from this date. Here, we explore the key considerations for managing customs compliance risks and the practical steps to take […]
Expanding legal firm reduces costs and increases security with Advanced Digital Dictation
Following the merger of two legal firms using two separate systems, Advanced software provided the best-fit solution: a Cloud service with high levels of security, a modern infrastructure and lower running costs. Attwaters Jameson Hill serves private clients and commercial organisations across Essex, Hertfordshire and outer London; across four offices, with 70-plus fee earners. We […]
Employment essentials: 5 lessons from September 2019
The historic Supreme Court hearing and judgment on the proroguing of Parliament was hands down the case of the month. Despite the continuing Brexit uncertainty, employment law developments continue. Gowling WLG’s employment, labour & equalities experts bring you the latest top five employment law developments that may affect your business: The dangers of selective waiver […]
Draft laws regulating private detective activities introduced in Ukraine
Two draft laws to regulate private detective activities in Ukraine have recently been introduced in the Ukrainian parliament. The first is Draft Law on private detective (search) activities No. 1228 dated 2 September 2019 (“Draft Law No. 1228“). Its contents and name are identical to Draft Law No. 1024, which was introduced during the previous […]
Attorneys’ fees reduced VAT rate to 8%
By Duygu Doğan, Afra Ertürk In the Official Gazette dated October 2, 2019 and numbered 30906, the President’s Decision no. In this context, VAT added to attorneys’ fees with the addendum made to the Karar Decision on Determination of Value Added Tax Rates to be Applied to Goods and Services “(“ Decision of the Council of rate was reduced from 18% (eighty percent) […]
A “moral hazard”? A look at state aid and “bailouts”
By Bernardine Adkins, Sean Giles Last week, Boris Johnson refused Thomas Cook’s request for financial assistance from the Government, reportedly to avoid a “moral hazard” for other failing businesses. Yet, when Condor – a German subsidiary of Thomas Cook – requested a reported €200m of financial assistance in that same week, the German government is reported to have provided a […]
How to improve productivity at work in 2020 (and some tools to help)
By Chris Shenton Employee productivity is the measurable output of employees in any given organisation. This measurement can be very quantitatively captured, through recording time and costs to stack up against results, or a business can approach it in a more general, quantifiable way. Productivity is, unsurprisingly, often see as something of a ‘holy grail’ […]
Nine key pension issues you’ll have to deal with in 2020
By Ian Chapman-Curry, Jason Coates, Glyn Ryland At the beginning of 2019, we flagged uncertainty around how or even whether Brexit would be delivered. At the start of 2020, we finally seem to have some more clarity on this issue. Will 2020 finally be the year that the UK leaves the European Union? And will […]
Quarterly update on Northern Ireland employment law
By Rob Tubman Disability Discrimination Case: British Telecommunications Plc vs Meier BT appealed the Industrial Tribunal’s November 2018 decision that “BT was liable for disability discrimination by reason of its failure to make reasonable adjustments” for the Claimant’s disability (autism spectrum disorder). The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal ruled that reasonable adjustments would have removed […]
How to run a disciplinary investigation
By Alex Lloyd, Antonia Blackwell Organisations are coming under increasing scrutiny by employment tribunals in respect of action taken during the investigation stage of the disciplinary process. What makes an investigation reasonable and how can this be achieved in practice? Christmas has been and gone, New Year resolutions are hanging in the balance and rumours […]
Receiverships
Introduction Writing an article on receiverships for a business audience is not easy. Most in business will have come across a “Receiver” of one form or other, probably put the file on the “too difficult – write off pile” and moved on. For most situations this is not a bad decision but knowing a bit […]