In a world where newspapers are branding judges ‘enemies of the people’ and fake news dominates public discourse, these days the media itself is the story.

Continue reading “Fit to Print”

‘There are known knowns… There are known unknowns… but there are also unknown unknowns.’

Continue reading “The blueprint”

‘When I initiated discussions on our culture at partners’ meetings, I could see the faces of many of my former partners light up, not for the reasons I hoped, but from the reflected glow of their BlackBerrys. They saw an excellent opportunity to catch up on more pressing issues, while I, to their minds, embarked on some abstruse philosophical and largely meaningless examination of our corporate soul.’ David Harrel, senior partner of SJ Berwin between 1992 and 2006, writing in Legal Business, 2013

Continue reading “Shattered”

At a recent event for senior in-house counsel in London, two clear messages emerged. Firstly, that there is a rapid professionalisation in the way that major legal departments are managing themselves. Secondly, there was agreement that much of the support for change was being driven from the ‘alternative’ legal market. Despite this, there was a lack of agreement as to what lay behind this process and how alternative providers were supporting it. In this article we explore these two issues. Firstly, what are the changes in-house legal departments are looking to bring about? And, secondly, how can the alternative marketplace help support them? Continue reading “The shock of the new”

For classists, the word ‘disruptive’ still carries negative connotations of damage, chaos and disarray. But these days in corporate circles it has become the phrase of the day – a complimentary shorthand to describe tech-driven innovators remaking all manner of industries. But the cult of disruption – birthed in Clayton Christensen’s hugely influential 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma – has truly come of age when it has reached not only the legal profession, but its in-house branch.

Continue reading “Rebels with a clause”

In her much-touted new book on bolstering team-working in professional services, Smart Collaboration, Harvard Law School professor Heidi Gardner argues that sophisticated buyers are increasingly expecting an open-house approach from advisers in delivering their wares.

Continue reading “The new black”

DAC Beachcroft and The In-House Lawyer recently conducted a survey to assess the role and influence of the in-house lawyer in managing risk. Is the role that of ringmaster – right at the heart of the matter – or more a side-line prompt? Essentially does the legal department have the necessary influence, associations, and information to fulfil the role of business adviser effectively? A picture emerges of the in-house lawyer as a key player in risk management and important contributors to the risk process, albeit that they own few risks. Continue reading “Managing risk: the in-house view”

‘When fintech became a big thing the narrative was all about the banks being disrupted and the threat to their business model,’ says Martin Cook, UK general counsel at Funding Circle, one of the world’s most successful peer-to-peer lenders. ‘There has since been a shift toward what might be called “fintech 2.0”, with a less aggressive conversation on both sides. The business model has matured toward delivering a better service to the customer rather than simply beating the banks.’

Continue reading “Fintech 2.0”