Commercial Litigation Summit
Contributors
The final session of the 2017 Commercial Litigation Summit sought the views of senior in-house counsel on managing disputes. Chairing the panel, Stephen Moriarty QC of Fountain Court Chambers kicked off the debate by tackling the perception of an in-house department as a cost centre – effectively, a necessary evil – citing the CV of Hausfeld’s Laurent Geelhand as an anecdote. Prior to joining the law firm, Geelhand was the European general counsel (GC) of Michelin, credited with turning ‘Michelin’s European legal department into a profit centre by systematically pursuing actions against third parties’. Moriarty asked the panel whether that is a realistic approach to running an in-house team.
John Keith, chief counsel for UK commercial litigation at BT Group, agreed it was a viable strategy but has to be put in the right context for the business. ‘You will have a challenge when you are talking about seeking monies back and how that impacts on the customer relationship. It is about negotiating internally so it is not simply seen as ambulance chasing.’
