The Client Profile: Jelena Madir, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

The Client Profile: Jelena Madir, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Jelena Madir’s career to date has been defined by two crises. The 2008 financial crash saw her out of a job and forced to look beyond private practice for gainful employment. Fast forward just over a decade, and the Covid-19 pandemic has spawned the work which she credits as the highlight of her career, and for which the Gavi legal team she leads won the Most Transformative In-House Team gong at the 2022 Legal Business Awards.

A globetrotting career, which has so far spanned two continents and five countries, began in the US. Despite having studied government and Asian studies with Chinese as an undergraduate, Madir insists: ‘I always knew I wanted to be a commercial or corporate lawyer.’
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The Client profile: Sharon Blackman, Citi

The Client profile: Sharon Blackman, Citi

While she is loath to admit it, Sharon Blackman, managing director and general counsel in Citi’s global legal affairs and compliance division, ‘hated’ her law degree. Clearly this has not held her back though, as her GC of the Year gong at the Legal Business Awards in September testifies.

Despite not falling in love with the law at an academic level, during her degree, Blackman took on pro bono work at her local Citizens Advice Bureau, and it was there that her passion was first ignited. She recalls: ‘It was really useful for developing the practical piece and I found that much more engaging than just the theoretical piece.’ Continue reading “The Client profile: Sharon Blackman, Citi”

The Client profile: Claire Holdsworth, Marathon Asset Management

The Client profile: Claire Holdsworth, Marathon Asset Management

‘Frankly, what’s a boardroom compared to a regiment of soldiers?!’ Claire Holdsworth is philosophical about her journey from army officer to motorbike-riding GC of Marathon Asset Management.

Some say getting your foot in the door of a top law firm is often the hardest part for aspiring lawyers, but Holdsworth’s journey to her training contract interview definitely casts that sentiment in a whole new light. Continue reading “The Client profile: Claire Holdsworth, Marathon Asset Management”

Vodafone legal chief Martin hangs up in-house career as easyJet replacement inbound

Vodafone legal chief Martin hangs up in-house career as easyJet replacement inbound

In-house luminary and Vodafone group general counsel Rosemary Martin is set to retire after more than a decade at the helm, to be replaced by well-respected easyJet GC, Maaike De Bie.

Martin, who joined Vodafone in 2010 after stints as Reuters’ GC and a partner at Rowe & Maw, will retire on 31 March 2023. The move will bring to an end a glittering career which saw her become synonymous with the development and the increasing influence of the GC role, as well as for championing diversity and ESG initiatives.

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In-house news: Sullivan closes the book as Waterstones GC

In-house news: Sullivan closes the book as Waterstones GC

Waterstones general counsel Elisabeth Sullivan has left her position after less than a year, today (22 September) announcing she has taken the inaugural GC role at Efficio Consulting.

Efficio Consulting is a global management consultancy with offices across Europe, America and the Middle East. In a LinkedIn post today, Sullivan said she would assume her new position next week, and quipped: ‘So long, Waterstones: thanks for all the books!’ Continue reading “In-house news: Sullivan closes the book as Waterstones GC”

The general counsel debate: Walking the talk

The general counsel debate: Walking the talk

Clare Francis, Pinsent Masons: We want to look at the change agenda and what that means for GCs, especially given the unprecedented events that have hit us over the last two or three years which have really disrupted business. Given that our clients are looking at things differently, having different priorities in the boardroom, and seeking to make progress in areas such as ESG and D&I [diversity and inclusion], it will be interesting in our debate to look at how that flows through into what you expect from law firms. To kick off, we thought it would be good to start by asking, what is high up on your priority list today and how have you seen that evolve over the last few years?

David Eveleigh, Serco: Definitely ESG. We at Serco do defence and immigration; if you take defence, this has been an area some investors have been reluctant to be associated with. You have this horrible situation with Russia and Ukraine now, and defence can suddenly be seen as a social good – you have funds that would never invest in defence, now saying defence stocks are investable. ESG analysts and investors may have a very different approach; one will say we are good while another will say we are awful based on the same data. It is probably the variability of ESG that is the biggest issue for us as a company and trying to understand, ‘What should you publish? What should you not publish?’ Continue reading “The general counsel debate: Walking the talk”

The Client profile: Dan Kayne, O Shaped

The Client profile: Dan Kayne, O Shaped

Some people go into law with dreams of changing the world, but for Dan Kayne that came much later.

In fact, he admits he fell into the profession almost by accident. ‘I honestly went to university to do a law degree not really knowing why, except that it was clearly a very good degree to have. Then I started applying for training contracts, like many of my peers did, towards the end of my time at law school and I got a series of interviews down in London.’ Continue reading “The Client profile: Dan Kayne, O Shaped”

The Client profile: Wayne Spillett, Vodafone

The Client profile: Wayne Spillett, Vodafone

Unlike some flightier in-house counsel, Vodafone’s head of legal for commercial operations, IP and corporate secretariat, Wayne Spillett, has stayed loyal to the company for close to 13 years. After a lengthy conversation, it is easy to see why.

Spillett studied both English and French law at the University of Exeter, developing a keen interest in EU law. The logical next step was a training contract at Lovells, where he qualified as a competition lawyer working out of both the firm’s London and Paris offices. Continue reading “The Client profile: Wayne Spillett, Vodafone”

The Client profile: easyJet

The Client profile: easyJet

‘The pandemic hit the airline sector hard and fast. We went from really being in growth mode, preparing forward-looking projects and a successful year in 2020, to very quickly having to ground our fleet almost overnight. We then had to deal with the implications of that for the company, which were severe,’ says Rebecca Mills, deputy general counsel (GC) of easyJet.

For most companies 2020 was a struggle but the airline sector, and easyJet specifically, was hit harder than most. Dealing with grounded flights, plummeting profits and a high-profile data breach, its General Counsel’s Office (GCO) went into overdrive. Continue reading “The Client profile: easyJet”

The Client profile: Elisabeth Sullivan, Waterstones

The Client profile: Elisabeth Sullivan, Waterstones

While some discover an aptitude for law while at university, others have it in their veins. According to Elisabeth Sullivan, recently installed as general counsel (GC) of book retailer Waterstones, she very much falls into the latter category.

‘People always told me since I was a kid I should be a lawyer because I had a “strong sense of justice”. Probably after I had some big tantrum!’ Continue reading “The Client profile: Elisabeth Sullivan, Waterstones”