Barclays global litigation head Stephanie Pagni has been appointed general counsel (GC) for Barclays UK, replacing Mark Chapman.
Chapman, who leaves the banking giant to work for a South African charity, had been in the role since March last year, after joining in 2010.
Barclays confirmed that head of litigation for the Americas, Matthew Fitzwater, will assume Pagni’s former role as global litigation head on an acting basis.
The announcement follows Barclays’ May 2016 decision to overhaul its legal team in the wake of ring-fencing reforms that split the bank’s retail and investment arms.
As part of the reorganisation, the bank split into two divisions: Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate & International. Group GC Bob Hoyt assumed an additional role as GC for the Corporate and International branch, with Chapman operating as UK GC.
Pagni acted as head of litigation for the bank’s global retail banking division for six years between 2005 and 2011, after joining Barclays from Allen & Overy where she was a senior associate.
In May 2014, Pagni was promoted to global litigation head as part of a wider reform which saw the global litigation group begin reporting directly to the GC.
Her promotion comes after Barclays announced the hire of former Bank of America managing director Frederick Reynolds as global head of financial crime in February 2017. Reynolds has joined Barclays’ New York office.
Also in February, Barclays revealed it intends to move away from a formal panel review process, opting for a system of ongoing assessments of its external advisers instead.
tom.baker@legalease.co.uk
