Carol Hui
General counsel and executive director
Heathrow
Carol Hui heads a team of 12 lawyers and four secondees taken from some of Heathrow’s seven panel firms, firms that are mainly used for M&A deals, bond issues and major litigation. Heathrow is currently in the process of disposing of Stansted Airport, and is using Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Herbert Smith Freehills.
‘We expect our external lawyers to understand our business and what drives us, to give us practical advice, to be responsive to our needs and not to fleece us in the process,’ she says. ‘If they happen to have nice personalities to match their legal skills, it will make the transaction that much more pleasurable.’
Law firms used: Allen & Overy, Blake Lapthorn, Brodies, Eversheds, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Pinsent Masons
2009-present: General counsel and executive director, Heathrow (formerly BAA)
2000-09: General counsel and board director, Amey
1997-2000: Director of legal services and group company secretary, TDG
1995-97: Deputy general counsel, BG Group
1989-95: Head of corporate legal services, British Gas