In our business there are always two discussions around the motivation for creating a workplace that is inclusive of LGBT members of staff. One relates to matters of the heart, but there are also matters of the head. Continue reading “Ian Johnson, Founder, Out Now”
Total’s diversity and inclusion strategy is predominantly internally driven. For many years we’ve recognised that it is not only the right thing to do, but there is also a business case for diversity. Continue reading “Dawn Lannin, Vice President of Legal for Europe and Central Asia, Total”
Gender is an obvious diversity issue for us as a company that primarily employs engineers, and therefore is not known as an employer of lots of women. Continue reading “Juergen Reul, general counsel, BMW”
Diversity and inclusion improves excellence in execution and risk management, and it gives strategic advantage. It improves execution by enabling better problem-solving; it’s an early warning system for bad decision-making. Continue reading “Nia Joynson-Romanzina, founder and director, iCubed”
My mother is a lawyer and all through my youth, during the summertime, I would work as an intern with her or her colleagues, going to court, seeing criminal and civil cases. Continue reading “Miral Hamani-Samaan, director of M&A, corporate transactions and international governance, Hewlett Packard Enterprise”
ln Europe, diversity and inclusion takes on a cultural dimension – around identity, national culture, and languages. In the early years of the diversity and inclusion profession, issues of ethnicity and ethnic groups were less in the frame in Europe, whereas gender was much higher on the radar screen. Continue reading “Farrah Qureshi, CEO, Global Diversity Practice”
‘Diversity’ can become a pop phenomenon, a buzzword. What you need to do, if you are going to talk about it, is also to walk to the talk. You have to live it instead of communicating it all the time. Continue reading “Lena Ernlund Malmberg, former head of legal IP, Nilfisk”
At Dell, we believe that we can serve our customers better by reflecting them, and we also believe that if you create an inclusive environment, you’re likely to be more innovative. So for us, D&I is very much a business imperative. Continue reading “Benedikte Leroy, Vice President and EMEA general counsel, Dell”
Diversity and inclusion is about having a diverse workforce and team, but it is also about being inclusive, not just in terms of gender, LGBT, ethnicity and so on, but of diversity of thought. Continue reading “Kirsty Cooper, group general counsel, Aviva”
At JTI, we perceive inclusion and diversity as talent management, and believe that what makes a company is having the best talent. To that end, we try to ensure that JTI is a great place to work, driven by diversity – be that of thought, ideas or people. Continue reading “Ana Isabel Montero Corbin, legal director, Japan Tobacco International”
Global statistics, collected by global analytics group Gallup, say that only 13% of people worldwide are engaged in their jobs, that the majority of people who resign from their position do so because they don’t feel their skills are required and used, and only 2% feel like their workplace supports them. Continue reading “Tinna Nielsen, founder, Move the Elephant for Inclusiveness”
Europeans know a thing or two about diversity. After all, a neighbour in the next town might speak a different dialect, or the nearest big city might be over the border in a different country. Continue reading “Shaping diversity: part one”
In order to capitalise on the benefits that a diverse and inclusive workplace can bring, a leader may have to get beyond initial resistance within the corporation, often arising from fear of being targeted or implicitly blamed. Continue reading “Shaping diversity: part two”
Despite the many senior GCs and in-house counsel that we have interviewed for this report (and elsewhere in GC magazine) as active sponsors of diverse workplaces, some of our consultants noted that legal departments were not typically being identified by diversity professionals as pioneers within their corporations on this issue. Continue reading “Shaping diversity: part three”
Diversity and inclusion are now top strategic priorities for 21st century business leaders. Across the globe, many general counsel and law firm managing partners are engaged in the debate and committed to creating the conditions for diverse and inclusive organisations. Continue reading “Diversity toolkit”
We began our survey of European GCs and other leading in-house legal figures by posing the question ‘Do you think that the legal team has a role to play in promoting diversity and inclusion in the wider organisation?’ Continue reading “A numbers game: diversity in Europe”
In about as big a talent move as possible between the UK’s two dominant legal training providers, BPP’s former chief executive Peter Crisp has joined the University of Law (ULaw) as pro vice chancellor.
Crisp, who spent 20 years at BPP University Law School first as a tutor and later chief executive, will assume his new role on 2 January and join ULaw’s executive management team led by vice chancellor and chief executive Andrea Nollent. He joins two existing pro vice chancellors and will focus on business development and client relationships. Continue reading “ULaw continues fightback to bring in high-profile former chief of arch rival BPP”
In a busy week for international practices, DWF has made a breakthrough on the continent, opening its first Italy office in Milan with a 16-lawyer team including four partners. The latest launch for the ever-expanding firm comes just a few weeks after announcing a launch in Australia.
Three of the Milan partners, corporate finance specialist Michele Cicchetti, tax partner Tancredi Marino and M&A partner Luca Cuomo, will join DWF’s Milan office from local independent firm Pavia & Ansaldo with Cicchetti becoming managing partner of DWF Italy. The fourth partner, real estate specialist Daniele Zanni, arrives from fellow Italian independent LS Lexjus Sinacta. The remaining 12 lawyers are all being supplied by Pavia. Continue reading “International round-up: Europe focus for new offices and key hires while Clydes US deal hits buffers”
Just a month after Uber drafted in Hogan Lovells to launch a legal challenge to Transport for London’s (TfL) decision to not renew its private hire licence, the US-based ridesharing company has hired Pepsico’s Tony West as its new chief legal officer.
In a company email, Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said that West, who served as PepsiCo’s executive vice president for public policy and government affairs, general counsel (GC) and company secretary, was ‘exactly what Uber needs now’. Continue reading “‘Exactly what Uber needs now’: Beleaguered app hires PepsiCo’s Tony West as chief legal officer”
Mr Justice Peter Smith, the controversial judge at the centre of two investigations by the Judicial Conduct and Investigations Office (JCIO), has retired. The move brings to an end all investigations and was announced just before he was set to be the subject of a disciplinary panel hearing today (30 October) and tomorrow (31 October).
Smith had been the subject of an investigation launched in 2015 by the JCIO that centred on his behaviour in a trial involving British Airways (BA), where he had to recuse himself after getting into a dispute with the airline over his lost luggage. Continue reading “Nick of time – controversial judge Smith retires ending conduct investigations”
