The Ireland debate: Don’t fear the robots

The Ireland debate: Don’t fear the robots

Nathalie Tidman, Legal Business: Welcome everyone. We have a fantastic panel of extremely talented and insightful people here this evening.

As a starter for ten, what do you see as the real opportunities and benefits for in-house lawyers using generative AI in your day-to-day dealings? Continue reading “The Ireland debate: Don’t fear the robots”

The Client profile: Stephanie Dominy, Snyk

The Client profile: Stephanie Dominy, Snyk

‘There is a creative and artistic side to me but also a very pragmatic and logical one. While I left that creative side behind, sometimes it still wants to get out.’ From speaking to Stephanie Dominy, general counsel (GC) of the hyper-complicated, open-source software security start-up Snyk, both her logical and creative credentials are in no doubt.

Dominy came to the UK at age 12 from Singapore while on an artistic mission: at the time she was training to be a ballet dancer, and had enrolled at a performing arts school. As such, she recalls that becoming a lawyer ‘wasn’t even intentional’. She says: ‘It was somewhat the expected thing, a safe career, something you would work hard at and then you will be recognised. I studied law at King’s and people were getting ready to go off and do training contracts, so I thought I might as well do the same!’ Continue reading “The Client profile: Stephanie Dominy, Snyk”

The risk debate: Silver linings playbook

The risk debate: Silver linings playbook

The decade since the fall of Lehman has seen some dramatic changes to the profession, not least law firms’ risk teams. Ten years since Legal Business first collaborated with broker Marsh to create our annual risk management and professional indemnity survey, progress has been made but the threats to the key players within the industry have become more ominous.

We gathered together leading risk experts from some of the UK and international firms most affected by increased regulatory scrutiny, geographical cohesion, data security and PR disasters to reflect on the evolution of law firm risk management and look ahead to see how the landscape could develop over the next ten years. Continue reading “The risk debate: Silver linings playbook”

Unstoppable: The Risk Report

Unstoppable: The Risk Report

Our debut risk management and professional indemnity report with broker Marsh in February 2008 featured a timid segue into an unfamiliar topic. We suggested that neither were ‘glamorous subjects’, while observing that firms were ‘thinking harder than ever’ about how to mitigate risks. A necessary evil, if you will.

The risk landscape portrayed then – six months before Lehman Brothers was to collapse – still has a familiar ring: ‘When things are going well, as was the case from 2003 to mid-2007, resources are stretched and clients want every deal done yesterday. Throw in an overheated recruitment market in which the firm that blinks misses out, and the competitive pressure of having to race into every new, emerging market and firms could be forgiven for never thinking about their professional indemnity at all.’ Continue reading “Unstoppable: The Risk Report”

From offshore to Big Law: the Panama Papers’ lasting imprint on the legal landscape

Tom Moore argues profession must deal with changing attitudes on tax and reputation

The offshore market is being redrawn following the leak on 3 April of 11 million documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co, which led to a public outcry about tax evasion. The leak revealed some 12 world leaders, including close associates of Russian president Vladimir Putin and 143 politicians, used the firm to avoid tax in developed countries.

Continue reading “From offshore to Big Law: the Panama Papers’ lasting imprint on the legal landscape”

New year, new privacy and security strategy

PwC Legal’s Stewart Room argues that 2015 is the year for companies and advisers to stop the denial of the realities of cyber security

New year is traditionally the time to change our ways. As we reflect back on the year just gone, perhaps we see that an inch has gone on to the waistline, or we’re more out of breath as we run for the train, or the savings have diminished even further. All good prompts to change our ways and come up with new life strategies?

Continue reading “New year, new privacy and security strategy”