The Client: Philip Bramwell – BAE Systems

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Caroline Hill talks to the plain-speaking general counsel

When BAE Systems’ group general counsel (GC) Philip Bramwell started out as a lawyer in the pharmaceuticals industry, his mother approved on the basis that ‘everybody gets sick’. But as the assertive corporate veteran set out on the deliberate path to change industry every few years, she was less convinced by his switch from BT to O2 in 2001, observing that mobile phones were somewhere between a brick and a car battery and ‘no-one would be so rude as to walk around talking on them’.

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Making connections – how in-house counsel swap ideas (and business cards)

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Legal Business assesses the options for senior in-house counsel looking to swap ideas (and business cards) with their peers

Buy-side lawyers are a continual target for a whole host of networking and marketing ‘opportunities’ that may – or more often may not – be useful. As private practice law firms look for ways to deepen their client relationship in a market where that relationship is increasingly de-personalised, others have clocked on to the fact that, to get close to private practice, you need to pull strings among their clients.

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The Client: David McLeish – Playtech

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The former BLP partner on taking the GC seat at a fast-growing online gaming firm

When David McLeish left Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) to become general counsel (GC) of the world’s largest publicly-traded gaming software company, he figured it would present a new challenge. The FTSE 250-listed Playtech has certainly not disappointed. A fast-paced Israeli company with a pronounced work ethic, acquisitive mind-set and cash burning a hole in its pockets, the company is also operating in jurisdictions around the world where the licensing rules surrounding gambling are far from black and white.

McLeish left BLP in May 2012 to join Playtech, a client of four years, which was about to list on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Describing his specialism at BLP as ‘corporate, gaming, hotels and leisure’, he says ‘the opportunity to become the GC of a FTSE 250 company was too good to turn down’. Like many private practice lawyers who have worked for a client for many years, he was also attracted to the idea of seeing deals through to the end and being part of a business.

Two months after his arrival, then AIM-listed Playtech – which provides branded software for online casinos, poker rooms, bingo games and sports betting for the likes of bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes – floated with a market capitalisation of around £1bn. That figure is now £2bn and the company’s revenue has risen from €111.5m in 2008 to €317.6m in 2012.

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PROFILE: Kirsty Cooper and Monica Risam – Aviva

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Legal Business meets Aviva’s senior lawyers as they discuss the effects of a major restructuring.

For those lawyers comfortable with the status quo within Aviva’s legal team, it has been a turbulent 18 months.

The FTSE 100 insurance giant has been plagued since the start of the financial crisis by poor financial performance, disparate businesses across the globe, and lower capital reserves than its competitors. Shareholders had lost confidence in former chief executive Andrew Moss, which is why Aviva is now run by the man credited with turning round the fortunes of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

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Feeling the squeeze – the pressure is on as procurement hits law

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With non-legal procurement teams becoming more and more part of the bluechip panel process, are firms delivering the best value for money?

`The client is the enemy,’ says one veteran corporate partner at a Magic Circle firm, privately expressing a common frustration over how the traditional relationship between external counsel and in-house legal teams has been battered by the latter’s post-downturn quest for value.

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Three steps forward… will Tyco-style deals ever sweep the market?

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As infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty signs up Pinsent Masons as its sole legal adviser for general matters, Legal Business asks why the trend for single-supplier deals hasn’t really taken off yet.

The single-supplier legal advisory model pioneered by Tyco International has resurfaced yet again. In April, infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty announced a radical overhaul of its panel arrangements, selecting Pinsent Masons as its sole adviser for all its ‘business as usual’ legal work. The three-year contract with Pinsents, which was agreed for an undisclosed amount, will cover all repetitive and predictable legal work that the firm faces on a daily basis.

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PROFILE: Terry Miller, LOCOG

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When the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG)’s general counsel (GC) Terry Miller won Legal Business Lawyer of the Year 2013, it was little wonder that it was the most popular award of the night.

Met by rapturous applause from guests that included her boss – LOCOG chair Lord Coe – Miller was recognised for her outstanding work on London’s internationally lauded 2012 Olympics, leading a team of 36 lawyers in setting up the entire Olympic Games legal framework and acting as LOCOG’s ethical compliance officer.

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Insurance giants move into legal services market

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Three insurance companies announced significant moves into the legal services market in April after sealing alternative business structure (ABS) joint ventures with law firms.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) granted Admiral, Ageas and RAC ABS licences to extend their services beyond insurance to provide legal services for customers making no-fault personal injury claims.

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With the territory

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With Barclays’ GC Mark Harding recently announcing his retirement, the search is on to replace one of the biggest jobs in City law. Legal Business assesses the much-changed role of bank legal heads in the post-Lehman world

When news broke in February that Mark Harding, general counsel (GC) for Barclays, was resigning after ten years in the top post, it sent ripples through the City profession. In replacing arguably the most high-profile GC in the country, the market is divided over whether Barclays should recruit internally or from private practice. The professional world that Harding has dominated for so long has changed almost beyond recognition. In filling those shoes, Barclays will be looking for much more than a leading corporate lawyer.

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PROFILE: Tom Kilroy – Misys

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The software firm’s legal head shares his unique viewpoint after a temporary stint as chief executive.

Tom Kilroy stands out in several notable regards from the ranks of prominent general counsel (GC). For one, the down-to-earth legal head of software firm Misys is one of a very select band of senior in-house counsel who have turned to social media as a means of communicating with peers.

As such, his ‘GC’s Eye View’ blog has built a considerable audience on the back of witty pieces on the realities of legal practice and the management of an in-house team, though work pressures have meant that in recent months Kilroy has turned more to commenting on the legal industry via Twitter, where he has amassed well over 2,000 followers.

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