Supply and demands – will the cheap talent run out for GCs in 2014?

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With rising demand for in-house counsel, bluechip legal teams are hunting for talented lawyers. Legal Business surveys the recruitment outlook.

‘I do get asked “Why are you outsourcing work when you’ve got such a large team?”,’ says David Symonds, general counsel (GC) for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Tyco International.‘Of course, the reality is, when you look at benchmarking data, my team is actually two thirds of the size that it should be.’

Continue reading “Supply and demands – will the cheap talent run out for GCs in 2014?”

In-house: former Thomson Reuters group GC resurfaces at Rentokil

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The former Europe & Asia general counsel (GC) of global multimedia giant Thomson Reuters, Daragh Fagan, has resurfaced at UK-based support services company Rentokil Initial as group GC.

Following the merger of Thomson and Reuters in 2007, an $8.7bn deal that created the world’s largest provider of financial news and information, Fagan was appointed from legacy Reuters as GC for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, after joining from Italian energy group ENI in the summer of 2007.

Having been further appointed as GC for the Europe and Asia regions in January Fagan, a former Herbert Smith lawyer, departed the media giant in the summer and took up his new position at Rentokil, which offers a mix of services including pest control and workwear, in September.

Continue reading “In-house: former Thomson Reuters group GC resurfaces at Rentokil”

In-house: HMRC appoints DWP director Gill Aitken as new GC as Sir Hector Sants resigns from Barclays

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With a long pedigree in working for the government, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) director general Gill Aitken is to replace HM Revenue & Customs’ outgoing general counsel (GC) Anthony Inglese, the body announced today (13 November).

Aitken, who will replace Inglese when he retires in January after 38 years in the government legal service, has been director general of legal services at the DWP since October 2011, after joining the team the previous year. Continue reading “In-house: HMRC appoints DWP director Gill Aitken as new GC as Sir Hector Sants resigns from Barclays”

Lloyds Banking Group takes on Morgan Stanley lawyer to head litigation and contentious regulatory

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As Lloyds Banking Group makes a series of senior management hires it has emerged that the global financial institution has brought in Morgan Stanley lawyer Michael Hartridge to replace group litigation and contentious regulatory head Nicola Myatt, who has left the bank.

Following LBG’s takeover of UK banking group HBOS in 2008, Myatt was appointed to head the combined litigation team, having headed the same function at Lloyds. Continue reading “Lloyds Banking Group takes on Morgan Stanley lawyer to head litigation and contentious regulatory”

In-house round-up: High level moves at HMRC, Premium Credit, RSC and Time Inc.

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Senior in-house moves across the media, culture and financial services sectors have seen former Virgin Money legal director Jasan Fitzpatrick named general counsel (GC) at Premium Credit, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) hand interim GC Marina Zain a permanent role, former News Corp GC Lon Jacobs take up a deputy role at Time Inc. and HMRC’s GC Anthony Inglese prepare to retire.

Inglese, who has led HMRC’s 200-strong legal team since 2008, is set to retire in January 2014. Since joining the civil service in 1975 to train as a barrister, Inglese has spent his entire 38-year career in public service, working in seven government departments and heading five of them. Continue reading “In-house round-up: High level moves at HMRC, Premium Credit, RSC and Time Inc.”

Ashurst corporate head Stephen Lloyd quits in set-back for Anglo-Australian giant

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Ashurst global head of corporate Stephen Lloyd has resigned in a move that comes within weeks of a vote for full financial integration with its Australian partner Blake Dawson and post-merger management elections.

Lloyd (pictured), who in July was appointed as co-head of the united firms’ corporate, commercial and competition team alongside Sydney-based Phil Breden, became the legacy Ashurst global head of corporate in 2010. Continue reading “Ashurst corporate head Stephen Lloyd quits in set-back for Anglo-Australian giant”

SJ Berwin star David Ryland moves to Paul Hastings as US firms reap benefit of UK vets

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Only four days after its merger went live with King & Wood Mallesons and SJ Berwin has lost leading real estate partner David Ryland to Paul Hastings in London, as US firms also continue to reap the benefit of offering better later life partner opportunities than their UK counterparts.

Ryland, who was the relationship partner for clients including Hilton and private equity fund Evans Randell, specialises in commercial real estate with a focus on UK and European property funds. Continue reading “SJ Berwin star David Ryland moves to Paul Hastings as US firms reap benefit of UK vets”

The Bar: Bloch QC exits Wilberforce for Blackstone as Lord Hope joins Brick Court

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Just weeks after Wilberforce Chambers’ longstanding chief executive and senior clerk Declan Redmond announced he is leaving for Keating Chambers, Wilberforce QC Michael Bloch has announced he is to depart for rival Blackstone Chambers.

A rated commercial and intellectual property specialist, Bloch QC’s recent caseload includes Nestles’ successful High Court battle with Cadbury earlier this month, after Cadbury tried to trademark the iconic purple colour of its Dairy Milk bars. Other significant cases include the British Sky Broadcasting Group v Microsoft over the latter’s use of the word ‘SkyDrive’ as the name for its cloud storage service. Continue reading “The Bar: Bloch QC exits Wilberforce for Blackstone as Lord Hope joins Brick Court”

International in-house moves – Total SA, Global Eagle and Environ bring in new GCs

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A clutch of international general counsel moves this week has seen Total bring in oilfield services heavyweight Maarten Scholten as its head of legal while across the Atlantic Jay Itzkowitz has been hired as senior vice president and general counsel (GC) of NASDAQ-listed in-flight entertainment provider Global Eagle and international environmental consultancy Environ has appointed its first-ever general counsel.

At French oil giant Total SA – one of the six ‘supermajor’ oil companies in the world – incumbent senior vice-president and GC Peter Herbel will hand over the reins to Scholten on 1 January after nine years in the role. Continue reading “International in-house moves – Total SA, Global Eagle and Environ bring in new GCs”

Jones Day’s EMEA private equity ambitions grow with hire of BLP’s Weir and McKeeve

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Recognised as a strong choice for UK mid-market buyouts and cross-border transactions, Jones Day’s London private equity team has expansive ambitions with the hire this week of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) corporate finance partner Michael Weir on the heels of former BLP colleague Raymond McKeeve.

Weir, who was made a partner at BLP in 2012 and specialises in private equity with a particular leaning towards large real estate funds, joins the top 10 Global 100 firm three months after McKeeve, who he worked with on mandates including Dunedin’s £44m buyout of Red Commerce in 2011, and Darwin Private Equity on its £10m acquisition of organic baby food business Plum Baby in 2010. Continue reading “Jones Day’s EMEA private equity ambitions grow with hire of BLP’s Weir and McKeeve”