Storyteller. Ninja. Scrum Master. Brand Champion. Evangelist. The modern commercial world has created many new genres of work, but sometimes it’s hard to know what they mean. Continue reading “Riding Schumpeter’s Gale”
Riding Schumpeter’s Gale
Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP
GC: Now less than a year out from the United Kingdom’s scheduled withdrawal from the European Union, how would you characterise the current state of negotiations between the UK and the EU? Continue reading “Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP”
In conversation: Jan Bredehöft, head of legal Germany, Huawei Technologies
GC: Tell us about yourself and your role in Huawei.
Jan Bredehöft (JB): I started my career at Shearman &amnp; Sterling here in Düsseldorf, focusing on competition law, and then moved to an M&A outfit in Cologne. Continue reading “In conversation: Jan Bredehöft, head of legal Germany, Huawei Technologies”
Trend Flash Report: Culture Change and Diversity
Culture – what is it?
A set of shared values and beliefs. In the workplace, these define the organisation and the way people work in it. Continue reading “Trend Flash Report: Culture Change and Diversity”
Dinner with GC: Germany
With five destinations in total – Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart – 75 general counsel joined GC, represented by editor-in-chief Alex Speirs and deputy editor Greg Hall, for the dinners. Continue reading “Dinner with GC: Germany”
Clean commerce: Finance goes green
Pressure for business to ‘go green’ has been building steadily for much of the past decade. What started in patches from a vocal minority has fast become a corporate imperative, as progressive governments impose both incentives and penalties on businesses, while an increasingly informed consumer base vote with their wallets. Continue reading “Clean commerce: Finance goes green”
In conversation: Marcello Dolores, VP – Corporate Legal and Regulatory Affairs for Southern Europe, Discovery Networks
GC: How did you come to be at Discovery?
Marcello Dolores (MD): I’m now in my seventh year at Discovery. I started to work for Fox International Channels, based in Rome, and in those seven years, there was a big expansion and startup of Fox’s business in Europe. Continue reading “In conversation: Marcello Dolores, VP – Corporate Legal and Regulatory Affairs for Southern Europe, Discovery Networks”
Facing The Inevitable: shaping the legal department and the law firm of the future
The Big Picture
Change in business is inevitable and the in-house legal department is no exception. GCs, the teams they lead, the way they are viewed and the work that they do are all changing. Continue reading “Facing The Inevitable: shaping the legal department and the law firm of the future”
A fresh start for Spain
One would be forgiven for thinking that a sense of normality may be returning to Spain following a calming of the rhetoric coming from separatists in Catalonia. Continue reading “A fresh start for Spain”
In conversation: Marco Lorefice, Senior Oil and Gas and International Arbitration Lawyer, Edison SpA
GC: Could you tell me about Edison and about your role?
Marco Lorefice (ML): Edison is the oldest European energy company. It’s named after Thomas Edison – a Milanese engineer met him at the end of the 19th century, and set up the first electric energy company in Italy after his name. Continue reading “In conversation: Marco Lorefice, Senior Oil and Gas and International Arbitration Lawyer, Edison SpA”
In conversation: Diego Manzetti, Head of Legal South European Zone, AIG
GC: What is your role at AIG, and how did you come to be here?
Diego Manzetti (DM): I joined AIG in 2011. I was previously working for Norton Rose Fulbright. The time I joined, AIG in Italy did not have a legal department. Continue reading “In conversation: Diego Manzetti, Head of Legal South European Zone, AIG”
Legal Operations: have you drunk the Kool-Aid?
For this quarter’s column, I’m going to take a look at legal operations, which appears to have replaced ‘innovation’ as the main buzzword in legal circles. Continue reading “Legal Operations: have you drunk the Kool-Aid?”
In-house to in the house
Many were surprised when Darren Jones was elected Labour MP for Bristol North West – none more so than Jones himself. Except for, perhaps, his boss at BT Legal. Continue reading “In-house to in the house”
Withers’ expansion rush comes to an end as revenue grows 1% to pass £175m mark
After years of convincing growth on the back of its rapid international expansion, private wealth specialist Withers increased its turnover by a modest 1% to £176.6m this year.
Growth in profit per equity partner (PEP) also slowed down and was up by 3% to £402,000 after jumping 25% to £381,000 last year, when the firm increased its top line 8% to £174.5m. Continue reading “Withers’ expansion rush comes to an end as revenue grows 1% to pass £175m mark”
CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era
In a case that has put antitrust law on the front pages, the European Commission (EC) has fined Google a record €4.34bn for breaching competition rules after Clifford Chance (CC)’s client FairSearch triggered a long-running investigation.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Allen & Overy (A&O) were on the losing side as the EC found Google had illegally required manufacturers of smartphones running its Android operating system to pre-install its internet browsing and search engine apps. Continue reading “CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era”
‘A difficult time’: Ashurst axes 54 City secretaries following redundancy review
Ashurst has culled more than half of its secretarial staff in London as its redundancy review draws to a ‘difficult’ conclusion.
The firm confirmed on Wednesday (19 July) that 54 of its 100-strong secretarial team had been made redundant following a consultation which put 80 jobs at risk. Two secretarial roles in the Middle East have also been axed. Continue reading “‘A difficult time’: Ashurst axes 54 City secretaries following redundancy review”
Gowling WLG revenue climbs to £455m in second post-merger financial results
Gowling WLG has replicated a broadly strong year for law firms after adding nearly 17% to its top line.
The firm’s second full financial year since the 2016 tie-up between Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co and Canadian firm Gowlings saw revenue increase to £455.5m from £390.1m last year. Continue reading “Gowling WLG revenue climbs to £455m in second post-merger financial results”
Deal Watch: International elite flock to $3.3bn Linde disposal as Paul Hastings hire secures 2nd deal for PE client
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters are leading on Linde’s $3.3bn Americas disposals, bringing the German gas group a step closer to its $83bn combination with Praxair.
The deal sees Freshfields advise a consortium of Messer Group, the German industrial gas manufacturer, and private equity house CVC Capital Partners as it acquired the bulk of Linde’s gas business in North America and individual business units in South America. The Freshfields team out of Germany was led by Kai Hasselbach in Munich and Stephan Waldhausen in Dusseldorf while its US team was led by partners Omar Pringle (M&A) and Paul Yde (antitrust). Continue reading “Deal Watch: International elite flock to $3.3bn Linde disposal as Paul Hastings hire secures 2nd deal for PE client”
End of Sir Cliff’s BBC privacy battle ushers in new rules on reporting investigations
Old-fashioned defamation disputes may rarely create significant precedent these days but the rapidly evolving area of privacy is a very different matter, a dynamic underlined this week in dramatic form in the conclusion of Sir Cliff Richard’s legal battle with the BBC.
The veteran celebrity’s victory in his long-running privacy case against the BBC has highlighted issues of potentially huge scope for the media and other publishers in reporting investigations against individuals. Continue reading “End of Sir Cliff’s BBC privacy battle ushers in new rules on reporting investigations”
Comment: Deal View – DLA moves house in London but can it break free?
Shifting to an agile-working office is a peculiar experience. Two camps quickly emerge: those excited by change and colleagues happy with decades-old paper in a pile on their desk. It is unsettling, yet can galvanise a workforce.
DLA Piper is similarly moving into a bespoke, semi-open-plan office this year – its single-largest capital investment ever. The flagship London HQ unites 360 lawyers from two separate offices, a grand total of 633 steps down the road. A new environment will be embraced by many, but for some the gloss quickly wears off. Continue reading “Comment: Deal View – DLA moves house in London but can it break free?”