The best in-house interviews of 2016

What hasn’t happened in the in-house world this year? Shrinking panels, turmoil (see Lloyds or Barclays for prime examples of this) and the implementation of new technology were the biggest trends in 2016.

Eversheds may have been the overall winner in The Lawyer Market Intelligence’s panel roundups for the year, but the fight for more coveted legal adviser roles has just begun. And with the demand for high-value advice and business partners greater than ever, the struggle is set to continue in 2017.

Despite uncertainty over Brexit, general counsel moves in the UK amounted to 94 in 2016, including ADM Group general counsel Sophia Malik, who joined from Colt, and Zaha Hadid Architects general counsel Tamsyn McLean, who joined from Balfour Beatty.

But that’s not all. This year The Lawyer’s FTSE 100 report identified a crucial problem for some in-house teams – they are far too top-heavy. With an inverted pyramid structure, in-house lawyers have no option but to send commoditised work outside the business. But some, like Royal Mail’s Maaike de Bie, are looking to change that. Watch this space.

Uber

Matt Wilson  |  Legal director

What a year it’s been for the four-strong in-house legal team at Uber. Being in court with (seemingly) almost everyone including their own drivers over employment rights has not taken the shine of the job off for head of legal Matthew Wilson.

Wilson, who joined the company in 2015 and set up the legal function from scratch, has seen it take on the onerous task of supporting several product launches while dealing with competition hurdles and avoiding collisions with rivals.

Wilson’s mission is to encourage Uber to mature rapidly so it can knock heads with the big boys and come off unscathed. Better still, he would prefer that Uber avoided scraps altogether. To do that it needs to shake off its puppy-dog image and become a sophisticated player.

Uber faces challenges from incumbents globally. In London the most prominent challenge has come from Transport for London (TfL) which, many commentators believe, is doing its best to protect black cab and minicab operators.

In October Uber saw off a High Court challenge from TfL over whether its app was legal in London. TfL had brought the case in a bid to have the app declared illegal because it was being used as a taximeter.

Then TfL fought for Uber drivers to have a compulsory English test to do their jobs, and a compulsory waiting time of five minutes for every cab ride. Both judgements have been deferred.

Uber’s latest court appearance was in the Central London Employment Tribunal, which ruled that its workers are entitled to holiday pay, a guaranteed minimum wage and breaks. Uber plans to appeal. It’s a constant battle.

Despite spending more time in litigation than he wanted, there is a silver lining. This year Wilson appeared in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 line-up and his team carried off top accolades at The Lawyer Awards.

Pernod Ricard

Ingrid Cope  |  Senior legal adviser – In-house lawyer of the year

This year beverage conglomerate Pernod Ricard had more than one reason to celebrate. Its positive financial results may have had something to do with the efforts of the one-woman in-house team that has been driving innovation in the UK.

Senior legal adviser Ingrid Cope was behind a contract generation app for the commercial team that provided an essential shortcut for deals on the go.

It was this work and her leadership in the business that won Cope the accolade of In-house Lawyer of the Year at The Lawyer Awards in June. Cope fought off stiff competition from in-house counsel from many sectors to claim the prize.

Phoenix Group

Phil Hagan  |  Legal director

After Phoenix Group’s listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2010 things went   rather quiet for legal director Phil Hagan and his team. But that changed in 2014 when a series of reorganisations and acquisitions launched the legal team into the spotlight.

The restructure happened at the same time as the business was involved in two large transactions. According to Hagan it was one of the in-house team’s most challenging years.

“It was a landmark year for the group especially from a strategic perspective,” says Hagan. “It was exemplified when, in July, we found ourselves with three important transactions running in parallel.”

The first transaction was the disposal of Phoenix’s asset management arm to Standard Life for £400m. At the same time the group was in the throes of issuing a bond valued at £300m.

Then after another year of quiet in 2015 the company switched gears again, spending £1.3bn on acquisitions.

A prime example of Phoenix’s change of style is its involvement in one of the most high-profile deals in the insurance world this year, taking on part of Deutsche Bank’s insurance arm Abbey Life for £935m.

To drive these investments Phoenix operates an informal legal panel consisting of Eversheds, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

So, which firm to use in any given situation? Hagan makes his decision based on a “four-leaf clover” rule of thumb that involves selecting the firm based on cost, technical expertise, commercial judgement, and service delivery.

RB

Claire Debney  |  General counsel for group legal affairs

Just months after her in-house interview spot with The Lawyer RB general counsel for group legal affairs Claire Debney left her role at the consumer healthcare company to rejoin former boss Bill Mordan at pharmaceuticals specialist Shire.

She left an important legacy for RB’s in-house team. Debney developed what she terms a “mini university”, intended to teach all RB’s lawyers the leadership skills she believes are necessary at every level of the team.

“Not everyone is going to lead and manage a team, but there is thought leadership; people are subject matter experts, they will
be mentors,” she said in her interview with The Lawyer.

Debney was also heavily involved in developing RB’s compliance tool i-Legal, designed to automate how the company deals with contracts, moving commoditised work away from the legal team and freeing her people up to deal with higher stakes matters.

As the company operates in 60 countries and sells products in nearly 200, having an automated system has given members of the legal team crucial insight into the kind of contracts RB’s businesses have.

In her new role at Shire, Debney is head of legal strategy and works alongside Mordan, with whom she also worked at Procter & Gamble in 2003.

News UK

Angus McBride  |  General counsel

What do you do when your most prominent client is acquitted of phone-hacking? Become her general counsel, of course. The extraordinary journey of former Kingsley Napley heavyweight Angus McBride in 2016 deserved more than a few headlines.

At the time of McBride’s appointment as News UK’s top lawyer – under new boss and aforementioned client Rebekah Brooks – in April there was no little discussion about why he had been chosen. With his 25-year record in criminal law and experience representing those in the media spotlight (Kate and Gerry McCann, Mazher Mahmood and Brooks included), McBride hardly fits the traditional profile of a corporate lawyer.

Now he works down the hall from News UK chief Brooks, who he represented when she was cleared in the phone-hacking trial dubbed the ‘trial of the century’. In a self-proclaimed ‘new era’ for the Murdoch corporation, McBride is ushering in big changes while handling legacy reputational issues for the business.

Although News UK no longer frequently features in its own papers’ headlines, the shadow of ongoing hacking trials still looms. News UK lawyers are the first line of defence for a business that can be attacked from all sides.

Corporate regulation and compliance in addition to media-specific regulation provides a constant stream of work, while libel and complaints are a common cost for editorial lawyers on the team. Litigation, including the phone-hacking trials, and commercial costs relating to the buying of media businesses such as Wireless Group earlier this year could easily cripple a slimline budget. This is why McBride is reviewing costs.

Since he started his role McBride has demonstrated his value in this arena, overseeing the appointment of News UK’s first sole trademark adviser role, awarded to Mishcon de Reya. Now that’s an exclusive.

Metro Bank

Sally-Ann James  |  General counsel

While other banks are struggling, Metro Bank is thriving – and, bucking the trend, is set to open new branches. Complete with its dogs-allowed rule and family-friendly zones, it prides itself on being the first UK high street bank to launch in more than 100 years.

At the helm of the legal team is Sally-Ann James, who was on her own on the legal side for two years before hiring solicitor Victoria George from now-defunct Davenport Lyons in 2014.

“I joined as sole counsel in 2012 – there was a blank piece of paper and my sleeves were rolled up,” she recollects in her interview with The Lawyer. “Before then, I hadn’t really thought about working in London, but I had no doubts about this role.”

James had spent most of her working life in Manchester, in the Co-operative Banking Group’s contract and commercial team. She felt it was time to move on after the company’s merger with Britannia, having her first post-Co-op interview at Metro Bank after taking 15 months off.

She admits to being on a “steep learning curve” since the company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Although she expects financial instability to affect the company and her team, she remains confident – after all, Metro Bank is certainly on the up.