Switzerland’s longstanding neutrality and geographical position in central Europe have given it the political stability and platform to become one of the world’s wealthiest (and most high-cost) countries. It has reaped the benefits of its rich combination of exports and inflow of skilled workers from neighbouring countries. Andreas Bohrer, group general counsel at biotech company Lonza, advises GCs considering a move to the country to understand its uniqueness: ‘Get to understand the people that are working here in the Swiss market and also the consumers. It’s important to understand that Switzerland, even though it is in the middle of Europe, has some aspects and features that are fundamentally different.’

Continue reading “GC Powerlist: Switzerland”

Since the early ‘80s, Canadian author, think tank CEO and academic Don Tapscott has been exploring innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology. As far back as 1995, in his book The Digital Economy, Tapscott was isolating the themes that would define the ‘new economy’. He’s often described as a futurist and, from a position 20 years later, we can see the prescience of many of his predictions: a knowledge economy peopled by knowledge workers, digitisation, virtualisation, ‘internetworking’ and outsourcing, globalisation, and the expectation that workers be more entrepreneurial and innovative as automation replaces many roles. These are all aspects of today’s workplace that many in-house counsel will recognise.

Continue reading “Joining forces: Don Tapscott: and the case for collaboration”

In common with in-house lawyers everywhere, our guests have found anti-corruption, bribery and investigations to be an increasing and more compelling part of their workload, notwithstanding the fact that the burden is often shared by compliance and risk departments.

Continue reading “GC Roundtable: Anti-corruption, bribery and investigations, Hong Kong”

A cyber attacker could be anyone. A disgruntled employee with access to data, a ‘hacktivist’ with a social or political axe to grind, an organised criminal seeking profit, or a nation state with a cyber army primed for sophisticated cyberespionage missions. They could be anywhere, silently gathering data before slipping out undetected, or hiding in a gap in the supply chain, waiting to shut down the organisation’s service. Terminology such as ‘phishing’, ‘social engineering’ and ‘advanced persistent threat’ has invaded the lexicon of the modern corporation.

Continue reading “Cybersecurity: keeping out of the breach”

There are many talented assistant, associate and deputy general counsel. With limited general counsel or CLO roles, what is the secret to advancing to the top? While the answer is partly ‘it depends’ (we are lawyers, after all), there are common attributes of successful GCs. By deconstructing these qualities, we discern a framework that aspiring C-suite lawyers can leverage to position themselves more strategically to obtain the top role, and excel once there. Tomorrow’s general counsel are proactively preparing themselves for success today. Continue reading “Moving from counsel to general counsel”

Within a generation, Ireland has experienced two extremes of economic fortune. ‘The Celtic Tiger’ (a term referring to unprecedented and uninterrupted growth from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s) sickened before 2008, when Ireland faced a deep economic crisis after the property bubble – which the growth was predicated on – burst and consumer spending collapsed.

Continue reading “GC Powerlist: Ireland”

When the global financial crisis (GFC) loomed over the West, multinationals turned their attentions to emerging markets, including many in Asia Pacific. Fast forward to 2015, and jurisdictions like China, Hong Kong and Singapore are key locations for global business, with a huge amount of foreign investment and a driving seat in the world markets. Continue reading “Green shoots: the growth of newlaw in Asia Pacific”

Catherine McGregor (CM): What are the challenges for in-house legal departments when you’re traversing a large number of geographies and trying to communicate across a dispersed department or business?

Richard Nohe: We look at things from a number of different matrix perspectives. You have the geography or the jurisdiction, you have the line of business, then you have the subject matter expert or centres of expertise. Continue reading “Dinner with GC: New York”

GC: Was law your first career?

Maksim Arefiev (MA): My first profession was as a military translator and I served as an officer in the Russian military forces. I participated in several peacekeeping missions in the former Yugoslavia. While on these missions I not only worked as a translator, but also performed the function of civil observer. I worked on a wide variety of challenging tasks, such as resolving conflicts between the Serbian police and Kosovo Albanians, participating in humanitarian missions, and participating in the investigation of various military crimes. Upon my return from Kosovo, I decided to go to law school and become a lawyer. Continue reading “Shopping around”

Russia, the largest country in the world by territory, has a unique geographic location that allows it to serve as a bridge between Europe and Asia. Emerging from a decade of post-Soviet economic turbulence, the country has moved from economic isolation to become a country that is well-integrated in the global markets. The ‘90s saw privatisation of most sectors in the economy, with the exception of defence and energy. Continue reading “GC Powerlist: Russia”

With pressure to increase capacity, work collaboratively and have management information at the GC’s fingertips, many in-house departments turn to a case management system. A clever one can bridge gaps caused by time zones, streamlining even multinational teams. Continue reading “Your business matters… Top tips for case management”

Is a sales person closing deals worth ‘ten million’ doing a good job? At first glance, it’s impossible to tell. The first thing you need to find out is: what currency? A ten million deal in pounds sterling is better than a ten million deal in US dollars, but the latter is still a decent size. Continue reading “Best practice or not best practice? That is the question”