This year has been a testing time for France both politically and economically. With the country remaining in a state of emergency after the series of terrorist atrocities, which have plagued the nation for the past two years, in addition to a dwindling economy with stagnant growth, political capital is at an all-time low. That’s far from an enviable position for a government struggling to reform and in dire need of finding ways to stimulate the domestic economy and tackle unemployment. Continue reading “GC Powerlist: France”

The launch of GC Magazine’s first special report publication, focused on diversity and inclusion in the UK in-house community, drew an impressive roster of attendees. The report is part of a range of initiatives undertaken by GC Magazine and The Legal 500 in regards to diversity and inclusion in the legal community globally. The UK report will be followed by a US-focused report and a Europe-focused one, as well as multiple events. The reports and the events will have a dual focus on the strategic rationales for diversity and inclusion in business and law, and the practical steps needed to successfully implement initiatives – essentially both a top-down and bottom-up approach. Continue reading “GC Diversity and Inclusion Report UK Launch”

Continue reading “The GC’s role in preparing for the (inevitable) crisis”

Working at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) wouldn’t suit every lawyer. If you yearn for walls spotted by Damien Hirst, encrusted with crackly oils of senior partners from days of yore or plastered with impassioned corporate values, you’d be disappointed. Desks groaning with gonks, or festooned with file boxes or framed pictures of you losing your lunch on the Corkscrew? Colour, of any kind? Ha, you wish. The overall effect is a little, er, Spartan.

Continue reading “‘I am Sparta!’ ‘No, we are Sparta!’”

A fundamental principle for multi-national companies is compliance with the law of all nations where they do business. But a recurrent dilemma is what to do when a corporation’s global ethical standards (‘oppose censorship’ for a global media company) collides with national law (China’s extensive state censorship). As companies globalize and nations regulate ever more, this vexatious problem is not esoteric, but recurring. Most companies make voluntary decisions to adopt ethical standards beyond what formal legal and financial rules mandate. A decision that a company’s global ethical standards conflict with national law raises a range of options: obey the law; be civilly disobedient (a very uncomfortable, often untenable, position for global companies dedicated to rule of law); try to change the law; or stop doing business in that nation. Continue reading “The conflict between a corporation’s global standards and national law”

PARTICIPANTS

Gregory Bopp – Managing partner, Bracewell LLP

David DeVeau – General counsel, Kinder Morgan Inc.

Jeffrey Kaplan – General counsel, LyondellBasell

Susan Lindberg – General counsel, Eni US Operating Co.
Inc. and head of the Americas Region legal department of Italian-based Eni SpA

Catherine McGregor – GC Magazine

Continue reading “Dinner with GC: Houston”

What is considered important professional ‘news’ for an in-house lawyer? Sure, many will see the changing legal landscape as news, scanning diligently the usual array of legal industry journals on a daily basis. But what other sources do you use to gather your news from? For that matter, what even is news? Continue reading “Who do you need to be?”