The discerning customer

Feature

In April last year, US-based tech services provider DXC Technology was formed following the merger of The Hewlett-Packard Company’s enterprise division with Computer Sciences Corporation. It was the ideal opportunity for general counsel Bill Deckelman to sit down with senior management and establish what the legal function should look like. ‘To put things simply, it’s …

Journey into the unknown

Feature

For general counsel struggling to manage the administrative and regulatory burdens of the role, a head of operations has become the must-have accessory. In the US, the growth of legal ops is demonstrated by statistics.

Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in China | Fangda Partners

Legal Briefing

After the landmark decision by a Chinese court finding reciprocity between China and the US, and recognising and enforcing a US judgment for the first time, there have been heated discussions on whether this case signals a genuine broader trend towards recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in China. The term ‘foreign judgments’ does not …

The team in I

Feature

Nailing the issue of what makes a high-performing in-house function, with the emphasis on operational sophistication, has become the Holy Grail for general counsel.

The landscape of international arbitration in Kenya | JMiles & Co

Legal Briefing

The main focus of this article is on international arbitration in Kenya. However, we shall take a short glimpse at alternative dispute resolution methods in Kenya in this section. The use of alternative dispute resolution methods is established in the Constitution of Kenya of 2010. As a guiding principle in exercising judicial authority, Article 159(2)(c) …

More vision, less admin: putting data to work | Apperio

Legal Briefing

Technology is dramatically changing the practice of law. Big data, machine learning, smart contracts and artificial intelligence are all making the assimilation and interpretation of large amounts of unstructured data much easier. Some doom-mongers see this as the end of the traditional practice of law. We believe, rather, that the trend will be for legal …

Point break

Feature

Legal spend is the second-largest ‘cost centre’ for £21bn global banking giant Barclays. This tantalising statement is in the bank’s 2018 Request for Quotation document, sent to law firms ahead of its final panel review this year and seen by The In-House Lawyer. The document provides detail on what Barclays describes as this ‘sizeable’ legal …

A general view of bankruptcy in Mexico | Rivera Gaxiola, Carrasco y Kálloi

Legal Briefing

When companies face financial difficulties in Mexico, our legislation provides a formal procedure known as concurso mercantil (insolvency) to restructure its finances and provide legal security to their creditors. This procedure is divided into two phases: i) conciliation and ii) bankruptcy or liquidation. The purpose of the conciliation phase is to achieve the continuation of …

Julie Smyth: BAE Systems Air

Feature

‘My husband has virtually no understanding of what I do,’ admits BAE Systems Air chief counsel Julie Smyth. ‘He thinks I sit in meetings all day.’

No great advantage

Alex Speirs: Now less than a year out from the UK’s scheduled withdrawal from the EU, how would you characterise the current state of negotiations? Dominic Grieve: They’re not going well at all. We are not talking the same language. The UK is seeking a bespoke deal recognising our past membership of the EU, our …