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Sponsor message – Fox Rodney Search: Understanding the developing role of the general counsel as a strategic business adviser

Corinne Lennock

The role of a general counsel (GC) has developed substantively over the last decade due to increasingly complex regulation, technological advancements and globalisation. GCs now bring more to the table than just their legal expertise and act as strategic legal and business advisers to the chief executive and executive leadership teams. Recruiting and developing the right talent has become harder and even more critical than ever before.

GCs are now viewed as the go-to advisers for chief executives and boards of directors on laws and regulations, as well as public policy, ethics and risk. In addition, GCs now possess broad financial acumen and commercial understanding, leading them to also participate in senior leadership discussions on complex business problems and to provide innovative solutions. The GC has become a principal member of senior management teams and offers advice not just on legal matters but in helping shape discussion and debate on broader business issues. Continue reading “Sponsor message – Fox Rodney Search: Understanding the developing role of the general counsel as a strategic business adviser”

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Sponsor message – Safelink: Improve productivity, reduce costs and engage your clients

Harry Boxall

Legal departments and law firms are under increasing cost pressures and it is no longer about doing more with less; it is simply a question of efficiency: top-quality output with less cost, fewer people and fewer mistakes. This leads the enlightened to the hot topics of business and digital transformation, which go hand in hand with technology and raise the issue of digital trust.

Automation of processes, secure and instant collaborative working and artificial intelligence provide huge opportunities for increasing efficiencies and quality, and creating the transparency that engenders trust in the client/provider relationship. Coupling this with the inherent security advantages of such technologies, a firm awareness of the associated risks, and adherence to an ever-changing regulatory and statutory landscape, gives the opportunity to create an environment of digital trust. Continue reading “Sponsor message – Safelink: Improve productivity, reduce costs and engage your clients”

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Sponsor message – Yerra Solutions: General counsel take the lead

Congratulations on being named a leader among leaders! General counsel (GCs) have been blazing new trails in the legal marketplace for years and it is a testament to your leadership to be named in the GC Powerlist. Yerra Solutions is proud to work with many of the GCs at the forefront of innovation in the management of the in-house legal function.

In partnership with our clients, we address challenges central to legal and intellectual property (IP), e-discovery and investigations, and compliance. Yerra’s consulting and technology-enabled managed services drive greater efficiency and reduce risk in the processes most critical to these functions. Our solutions cover the issues most central to running your department – from responding to a discovery/disclosure order from a court or regulator, forming/evaluating an outside counsel panel, gaining visibility and controlling legal spend, improving contract management or better managing the flow of work handled by internal staff. We also provide decades of collective expertise in helping GCs and their counterparts in IP and compliance to advance the operations of their functions – from selecting and implementing the right technology, to finding the right mix of in-house and outsourced work, to building and maintaining the reports needed to make better decisions. Continue reading “Sponsor message – Yerra Solutions: General counsel take the lead”

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Forming, storming, norming and performing

ZPG legal team

What makes a great corporate legal team? It is a question general counsel (GCs) surprisingly often struggle to answer. This lack of familiarity with the stock definitions of management theory should not be interpreted as a sign of operational incompetence, though.

‘The most common attribute any company looks for when hiring a GC is the ability to manage and lead a team,’ says Siobhán Lewington, managing director of legal recruitment boutique Fox Rodney Search. ‘The interview process is designed to highlight those skills and it is all but impossible to become head of a legal department now without an innate flair for teambuilding.’ Continue reading “Forming, storming, norming and performing”

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Methodology and criteria

The research process for the GC Powerlist has grown substantially since the first report was published in 2013 and now encompasses online nominations as well as substantial interviews with senior general counsel (GCs) and private practitioners.

The first stage for the 2018 report began in early December with the launch of an online survey to canvass recommendations for outstanding legal teams. Continue reading “Methodology and criteria”

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Fieldfisher, Kirkland and Stephenson Harwood the major winners at 2018 Legal Business Awards

Fieldfisher, Kirkland & Ellis and Stephenson Harwood were the big winners at the 2018 Legal Business Awards in front of more than 900 people last night (18 April), as Allen & Overy’s deal star Denise Gibson was recognised as Lawyer of the Year and BT’s Dan Fitz GC of the Year.

Hosted by journalist, writer and television presenter Mariella Frostrup, the ceremony saw Fieldfisher crowned Law Firm of the Year after an impressive 36% revenue growth to £165m in 2016/17 – the largest rise of any law firm in the Legal Business 100 table last year. The firm scooping the most prestigious award of the night underlines the work of managing partner Michael Chissick and senior partner Matthew Lohn in turning around a firm which only in 2012 was near-crisis (as described in our recent cover feature Reversal of Fortunes . Continue reading “Fieldfisher, Kirkland and Stephenson Harwood the major winners at 2018 Legal Business Awards”

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Partner promotions: Clifford Chance promotes 26 globally in a stronger round for women

Clifford Chance

 Clifford Chance (CC) has made up 10 women in a promotion round that has ushered in 26 partners globally, seven of which are in London.

Effective 1 May, the round represents a much stronger showing for women, with 10 being promoted compared to just four last year. Overall the promotion round has increased by two from 24 in 2017. The new partners will span across the US, Asia Pacific, continental Europe the Middle East, while in the City promotions increased to seven, up from six last year.  Continue reading “Partner promotions: Clifford Chance promotes 26 globally in a stronger round for women”

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Allen & Overy makes up just two women partners in scaled back global promotion round

Allen & Overy

Allen & Overy (A&O) has made up only two female lawyers to partner as part of a 20-strong round unveiled in the same month the firm vowed a renewed drive towards gender diversity.

The latest promotions fall below the scaled-up 2017 partner promotion round of 24 in which 10 were made up in London. Only four lawyers in London have been promoted to partner this year, as corporate and banking saw the lion’s share of the promotions. Continue reading “Allen & Overy makes up just two women partners in scaled back global promotion round”

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Global London comment: Brexit looms but the $20m partner is coming

train track graphic

Striking numbers abound in this year’s Global London table, if you are into that kind of thing. The three pace-setting US brands in London – Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis and White & Case – are all generating in the $300m region in the Square Mile, last year saw the first $10m lateral and my back-of-the-envelope scribbling indicates that the top 50 US firms are pulling in around $5bn in the UK.

The market is increasingly now defined by this trio, predictably so in the case of Latham, though City lawyers are still trying to get their heads around the idea of Kirkland and White & Case as mounting a frontal challenge. A few years ago, I’d have been equally sceptical, particularly in the latter’s case, but if there is a glaring hole in the game plan of these two outfits, they are hiding it well. With all three making ground in mainstream transactional work through 2017 and securing significant hires – the idea that certain kinds of M&A will remain the preserve of City advisers over the next three years looks fanciful. Continue reading “Global London comment: Brexit looms but the $20m partner is coming”

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Revolving doors: Magic Circle provides talent as UK players strengthen at home and abroad

game of hoopla with lawyers

Last week saw the notable hires of highly experienced partners by rival firms in the UK, with the magic circle providing the source for some of the most high-profile acquisitions.

The most notable recruit came in Asia, where veteran silk Judith Gill QC is set to leave Allen & Overy to take up a position in 20 Essex Street’s Singapore offering within Maxwell Chambers on 1 May. Gill, who was admitted onto the roll in 1985, and said: ‘A&O has given me a level of encouragement, support and opportunity beyond all my expectations. I have had the privilege of working with immensely talented and dedicated individuals there at every level for more than three decades and I will miss them greatly.’ Continue reading “Revolving doors: Magic Circle provides talent as UK players strengthen at home and abroad”

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UK rules: London in the spotlight as Mayer Brown appoints City veteran Clay as managing partner

starry sky over the City

In a marked shift in leadership away from its Illinois roots, Global 100 giant Mayer Brown has appointed City-based veteran Jeremy Clay as its new managing partner.

Global real estate head Clay will replace Washington-based litigator Kenneth Geller, who took on the role in 2009. Continue reading “UK rules: London in the spotlight as Mayer Brown appoints City veteran Clay as managing partner”

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The future in the instant: Burness completes leadership overhaul of Scottish independents

Philip Rodney, Burness Paull

With Brodies having completed a generational overhaul of its leadership recently, a changing of the guard at rival Scottish independent Burness Paull  will take place this summer for the first time in over a decade.

Burness Paull corporate head Peter Lawson and property and infrastructure head Tamar Tammes will become the firm’s chairman and managing partner respectively from August this year. They replace longstanding figurehead and chairman Philip Rodney and managing partner Ian Wattie, who have held their positions for more than 12 years. Continue reading “The future in the instant: Burness completes leadership overhaul of Scottish independents”