Kent County Council
With 130 lawyers, Geoff Wild heads up one of the largest teams of local authority lawyers in the UK operating as an in-house trading practice. He looks for proactive dynamic entrepreneurial lawyers in his team that can demonstrate local government lawyers are not second rate compared to the private sector.
Worcestershire County Council
Praised by one private practice partner for his ‘deep-rooted desire’ to help his organisation deliver for the residents and businesses of Worcestershire, Simon Mallinson has always worked in the public sector and says he enjoys the large variety of work the Council offers, which takes him back to the days when he was a trainee solicitor doing different seats. ‘The difference is the buck now stops with me,’ he says.
Continue reading “Simon Mallinson – Worcestershire County Council”
London Boroughs of Barnet and Harrow
Hugh Peart joined the London Borough of Harrow almost 20 years ago as a principal solicitor in the borough’s childcare law team. In October 2012, Barnet and Harrow officially merged their legal teams under Hugh’s leadership to form ‘HB Public Law’ with an aim to slash the councils’ legal spend by over £3m.
Continue reading “Hugh Peart – London Boroughs of Barnet and Harrow”
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, North West Legal Consortium (NWLC)
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council is part of the North West Legal Consortium, set up in 2006 as the first combined consortium of barristers and solicitors. Jayne Hammond has served the council for over a decade and currently heads a team of 22 lawyers.
Continue reading “Jayne Hammond – Bury Metropolitan Council, North West Legal Consortium (NWLC)”
Office of Fair Trading
Sheldon Mills’ responsibilities include the day-to-day delivery of the Office of Fair Trading’s merger caseload, management of the mergers group and representing the OFT externally. Mills heads a team of 35, including eight competition/litigation lawyers. The OFT does not have a legal panel as it doesn’t instruct law firms, but it does deal with a range of firms that require M&A transaction clearance.
London Borough of Sutton
Sutton’s legal panel is part of a wider consortium led by the London Borough of Bromley and set up in 2010. Around 26 firms provide counsel for various outer London boroughs, the Corporation of London and five district councils in Kent.
Continue reading “Sanjay Prashar – London Borough of Sutton”
Prudential
Margaret Coltman was only appointed to her role as group general counsel and company secretary in July 2009 but has a very impressive background, including more than 22 years as an insurance partner at Norton Rose.
XL Group
Rhic Webb is described by his external lawyers as ‘a very strong lawyer who has a very good eye for detail’. He says that increasingly his time is spent in corporate matters, as well as ‘the nuts and bolts of insurance and reinsurance issues’.
Lloyd’s of London
Sean McGovern was initially brought in to do finance work at Lloyd’s at the age of 26. Since then, he has been responsible for all the regulatory and government issues for Lloyd’s, and three years ago he took on the task of promoting and protecting Lloyd’s business interests in the US and Canada.
Canada Life
Kelvan Swinnerton is known for solving problems quickly. Having been a partner at insurance firm Kennedys for the best part of a decade, one private practitioner says of him: ‘Kel has a very sharp legal mind, which he couples with a drive to resolve problems proactively and practically – he always has an eye open for the most sensible solution. He also manages to maintain a lively sense of humour.’
