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.
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 […]
FTSE 250 GCs: gearing up on data to prove legal team’s worth
As GCs begin to quantify a legal team’s value to its business, The Lawyer’s roundtable finds that the use of data is key to the process in more ways than one
Kraft Heinz’s Victoria White: slashing workload by upskilling colleagues
The legal VP at ketchup maker Kraft Heinz has turned her team into a smooth-running machine
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, […]
GVC legal head makes post-merger move to Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle has appointed a new general counsel as current GC Robert Gibber steps down after nearly 30 years at the helm of the prominent British ingredients brand. Lindsay Beardsell will take on the role of executive vice president and general counsel at Tate & Lyle from 17 September 2018. Consisting of a team of […]
BT legal veteran to take on new role at biomedical centre
BT’s former group general counsel Dan Fitz is to take up a new role at The Francis Crick Institute, a London-based biomedical research centre. The move comes after Fitz handed over the reins of BT’s legal team to the former GC of Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInBev) Sabine Chalmers. She took over in April, while Fitz has […]
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 […]
PayPal announces new EMEA head of legal
PayPal has appointed a new head of legal in the EMEA region, coinciding with the third anniversary of the online payment giant’s split from eBay. Leigh Murrin joined Paypal yesterday (30 July 2018) as its head of legal in the EMEA region, based in Luxembourg. She replaces David Ferri, who has been in the role […]
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.
Barclays heralds ‘new era’ with final panel review
Marking a significant shift in the way it works with legal suppliers, Barclays has completed its last ever formal review of its law firms worldwide, cutting its roster down from 140 to 100 firms. The new panel will be in place for three years, subject to performance, until 20 June 2021, before Barclays embarks on […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Business services case study: How Ince went agile
Changing the policies at a traditional firm brought quick dividends.
Longer term tenancies? Potential implications for lenders
Walker Morris’ Housing and Banking Litigation experts Karl Anders, Justin Coley and Sandip Singh explain the UK government’s consultation on introducing longer-term tenancies in the private rented sector, with a particular focus on potential impacts for lenders…
Assessing creditworthiness in consumer credit: FCA publishes final rules and guidance
The results of a large-scale survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2017 indicated, among other things, that: 75% of UK adults had one or more consumer credit products or loans in the previous 12 months; 4.1 million people were “in difficulty” because they had already failed to pay domestic bills or meet credit […]
Open Banking, fintech and the Brexit hokey cokey
By Miles Trower London is, arguably, the most important global hub for financial services. As a result, the consequences of the Brexit vote, the ensuing uncertainty and the eventual transitional and regulatory framework applying to UK financial services and how it will continue to access overseas markets has been subject to huge speculation. Much of […]
FCA consultation on a Global Financial Innovation Network
By Russell Kelsall On 7 August 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation on the creation of a Global Financial Innovation consultation. With innovation in the global financial services market rapidly increasing, it is important for firms to consider the options for building, implementing and sharing experiences of digital solutions.
Austria: The DPA’s strict view on retention periods
At the end of July, the Austrian Data Protection Authority (‘DPA’) published its first decision on retention periods applying the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’; DSB-D216.471/0001-DSB/2018). The decision is final. The DPA had to decide for which period a provider of telecommunications services (hereinafter: the ‘controller’) may (respectively must) retain so-called master data, required for […]
Switzerland maintains its globally leading position in international arbitration
By Michael Feit Switzerland has a long-standing tradition to serve as the seat for international disputes. Thanks to its very arbitration friendly legal framework, and overall encouraging factors such as Switzerland’s neutrality, stability and business-friendly environment, Switzerland has remained a top choice for international arbitration for parties from all over the world…
New provisions concerning critical infrastructure in Romania
By Irina Radu One of the major objectives of the EU is reducing the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure and increasing their resilience. An adequate level of protection must be ensured and the harmful effects of disruptions on the society and citizens must be limited as far as possible. Critical infrastructures extend across many sectors of the […]
CEE: Keeping track of data processing
By Gelu Maravela and Daniel Alexie Depending on the size of the operator, the frequency of processing activities, and the character of the data that is processed, keeping records of all processing activity should be deemed necessary for a considerable number of operators. From our point of view, only operators that process personal data in […]
Kazakhstan introduces new ‘Squeeze-Out’ mechanism for major shareholders
On 2 July 2018, Kazakhstan adopted the Law No. 166VI “On amendments and changes to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Insurance and Insurance Activities, the Securities Market” (the “Law”). The Law entered into force on 15 July 2018 (with the exception of certain provisions, which will come into force later). Among […]
Amendments to the Hungarian Data Protection Act
By Dorottya Gindl The Hungarian Parliament has recently adopted legislation with the aim of harmonising the national data protection rules with the rules of the GDPR, and supplementing the national rules in areas not regulated by the GDPR. The Parliament adopted Act XXXVIII of 2018 (“Amendment“) in an extraordinary session and the new regulations entered […]
Changes to Entrepreneurs’ Relief: What do you need to know?
By Mark Braude A significant and welcome change to the Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) rules was announced in the Finance Bill 2019 last month. It is aimed at shareholders who would otherwise lose their entitlement to ER as a result of being diluted below the 5% required shareholding…
FCA publishes evaluation of Guaranteed Asset Protection intervention
By Alanna Tregear The Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) said, as part of its 2018/2019 Business Plan, it wished to investigate the effectiveness and impact of its interventions into certain markets and industries. The FCA intends to conduct three pilot evaluations, the first being an evaluation of the FCA’s September 2015 intervention into GAP insurance. […]
When things go bad: managing the serial complainer
By Simon Fennell In this article we share some top tips for effective performance management of the employee who challenges at each step, making that process as difficult as possible…
Brexit “no deal” – implications for UK companies
By Alice Gardner The only certainty we currently have with Brexit is that the UK will cease to be a member of the EU on 30 March 2019 if the UK government does not finalise a withdrawal agreement with other member states (or agree an extension of time with the European Council) by midnight on […]
Watch out for GDPR-related claims – it’s not all about fines…
In the run-up to implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25 May 2018, much of the focus was on the eye-watering level of fines which data protection regulators can impose, among a variety of other enforcement tools at their disposal, for infringements of the new legislation: up to 2 per cent […]
Breaking down the handbook: Dignity at work policy
By Katie Craven In this instalment of our Breaking Down the Handbook series we look at dignity at work policies, in particular why employers should have them, what they should contain, and how they should be applied in the workplace. What is dignity at work policy?