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Features
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Defensive manoeuvres
What are the biggest challenges facing GCs from a cyber risk perspective right now? There are two primary risks. It’s quite clear from recent guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and other organisations that ransomware is prevalent. Therefore, businesses should be preparing their playbook and their response process, so that they have them ready …
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A state of flux
For personal injury (PI) practitioners, dynamism is one of the features which makes this such a fulfilling field to work in. The work follows a constant ebb and flow of patterns and trends – from the boom and wane of asbestos-related cases, to the rapid spike in noise-induced hearing loss claims, to the recent resurgence …
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Change is now
It’s fair to say that legal directories have come in for more than their fair share of flack over the years, particularly when it comes to speed of change. But if proof were needed that The Legal 500 is more than capable of setting the pace, then the latest UK gender diversity stats neatly provide …
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The melting pot
With only a small degree of hindsight available, it is abundantly clear that London is experiencing one of its great disputes booms as the UK emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic. One may expect that the unique economic situation, underpinned by unprecedented levels of state financial support, may be the key catalyst for contentious issues. But …
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Balancing growth and risk
As part of an ongoing series of thought leadership roundtables and webinars we have been hosting with Paul Hastings before, during and after lockdown, we were delighted to finally have an in-person debate at Paul Hastings’ London office in November 2021. We gathered together leading general counsel and Paul Hastings partners to discuss the role …
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Top of the agenda
Cyber security, environmental and social issues, shareholder activism – corporate governance has never been so high up the business agenda as it is today. And the role GCs play in ensuring proper systems of checks and balances are in place and adhered to at their companies cannot be underestimated. Against a backdrop of continued economic …
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Crisis averted?
‘The whole property industry would have been paralysed had most landlords and tenants not been able to navigate their way through it,’ says Joanna Lampert, Mishcon de Reya’s property litigation partner, reflecting on the impact of the pandemic.
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Out of the shadows
According to Sandy Bhogal, co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s global tax practice, ‘General counsel will probably be more involved in tax affairs now than they’ve ever been’. With this in mind, he identifies three major trends in corporate tax that will keep lawyers busy for the foreseeable future: the knock on impact of the pandemic to …
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Validity in the opposition
A cursory glance at The Legal 500’s IP coverage – which was recently split into a distinct patents table alongside a trade marks, copyright and design table – makes for a head-scratching read. In a legal discipline that attracts sophisticated, technical expertise, fortune favours the innovative as much as the who’s who of the City …
Events
About us
Established in 1992, The In-House Lawyer is the magazine of choice of the in-house counsel of the UK and EMEA. Relied upon and trusted by heads of legal departments, company secretaries and managing directors of FTSE 250 companies for providing authoritative and independent editorial content, The In-House Lawyer boasts the largest and most comprehensive published resources of professional knowledge and expertise.
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Profiles
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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, …
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Allan Dunlavy – Schillings
What types of work are you seeing at the moment in reputation management? Have there been any changes post-pandemic? A lot of the work we’re doing at the moment, particularly with corporates and their senior leadership team, is about building resilience into their online profiles – so both the corporate profile and the individuals’ profiles. …
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Sarah Holford – Scania UK
Shortly after completing the Legal Practice Course, Sarah Holford was looking for somewhere to kick-start her career. An opportunity presented itself at Games Workshop, the British manufacturer of miniature war games, with space-themed Warhammer 40,000 among its best-known products.
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Chris Thomas – Brewin Dolphin
‘I do employment law because I love personalities and people, whether they are friend or foe. You can learn from that.’ So speaks Chris Thomas, senior legal director at Brewin Dolphin, who was recognised as an in-house Rising Star at the Legal Business Awards 2021.
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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 of the hyper-complicated, open-source software security start-up Snyk, both her logical and creative credentials are in no …
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Ahmed Badr – GoCardless
Ahmed Badr did not want to be a lawyer. A self-professed ‘huge geek’ at school, he was never happier than when sat a computer doing some programming or web design. ‘You would never find me playing football,’ he reflects.
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Anthony Kenny – GSK
The In-House Lawyer (IHL): Can you describe your career path so far and tell us a little bit about your current role at GSK?
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Philip Price – TP ICAP
The In-House Lawyer (IHL): Describe your career before your current role with TP ICAP and the company today.
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Lindsay Beardsell – Tate & Lyle
Lindsay Beardsell is never one to rest on her laurels. She trained and qualified at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer but, as is the case for so many established general counsel, private practice failed to satisfy the need to be closer to a business.
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Julian Homerstone – Virgin Atlantic
The transatlantic airline’s GC talks to The In-House Lawyer about what it takes to advise one of the world’s most high-profile carriers amid a global pandemic.
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James Stebbing – Six Nations Rugby and the British & Irish Lions
James Stebbing talks to The In-House Lawyer about breaking into sports law, working with two of rugby’s best-loved sporting brands and what the Covid-19 pandemic means for next year’s South African tour and beyond.
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Dan Webster – Harrods
The retail group GC talks to The In-House Lawyer about what it takes to advise one of the world’s most recognised department stores.
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Ria Sanz – AngloGold Ashanti
The mining firm’s in-house counsel considers the keys to success and the importance of values when heading a legal and compliance team.
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Rupert Skellett – Beggars Group
As general counsel for one of the UK’s premier record companies, Rupert Skellett tells The In-House Lawyer about the realities of being at the forefront of negotiations with some of the world’s most exciting artists.
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Sivan Whiteley – Square
Sivan Whiteley’s legal career began with the study of rational choice theory at university – decoding why people make the decisions they make.
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Heather Mitchell – The Carlyle Group
‘One reason I’m doing this interview is so I can send it to my parents. They’re really important to me. Ah, suddenly, the hard-woman persona crumbles,’ jokes Heather Mitchell, global general counsel (GC) for investments and head of EMEA at The Carlyle Group.
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Christine Dekker: McDonald’s
The UK and Ireland GC on ten years at the fast-food giant and how tech is transforming the consumer trade
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Sonya Branch: Bank of England
The GC of the UK’s central bank talks Brexit, having a mission and making partner at 31
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Anna Cosgrave: Graze
The self-confessed fitness freak and head of legal on the allures of in-house law and healthy snacks
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Hugh Pugsley: HSBC
The banking giant’s UK law chief on retaining perspective, understanding your advisers and the value of mentors
Briefings
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The status of electronic signatures in The Bahamas
The Bahamas, like many other countries, saw a marked increase in the use of technology and e-commerce services as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. While many Bahamians withstood lockdowns and prolonged periods of mandatory social distancing, technology provided a mechanism through which transactions could be conducted (and contracts could be executed) without the parties …
Continue reading “The status of electronic signatures in The Bahamas”
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Data privacy in Pakistan – the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2021
Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan recognises ‘the dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home’ as a fundamental right – violation of this right would therefore be extra-constitutional.
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Data protection and cybersecurity in Brazil
In the years preceding the Brazilian Data Protection Law (Law No. 13.709/2018 or LGPD), there were already legal texts in force that provided for the protection of privacy and personal data in a sparse manner in Brazil, such as the Federal Constitution of 1988, the Consumer Defense Code – Law No. 8.078/90, the Civil Code …
Continue reading “Data protection and cybersecurity in Brazil”
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New green heroes
This is the third time we have run a boardroom priorities survey and the responses are helping build a strong picture of evolving priorities as boards face unprecedented challenges. Thank you to all those who have participated to help create valuable insights.
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The privacy, data protection and cybersecurity law regime in China
Primary laws and regulations China began establishing its comprehensive legal regime in regard to privacy, data protection and cybersecurity in 2016, when the Cybersecurity Law (CSL) was promulgated. The legal regime was principally established in 2021 when the Data Security Law (DSL) and the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) came into effect. The PIPL, DSL …
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Mexico: closer to GDPR than you think
BGBG is one of the few Mexican law firms with a practice exclusively dedicated to data protection and privacy matters. How is it that you came to this? Héctor: Back in 2011, when we started this practice, there was little knowledge and interest in Mexico in data protection. Some colleagues even said to me that …
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IT security in Germany: a jungle of laws
Introduction Our society is becoming increasingly interconnected and digital. At the same time, cyberattacks are constantly increasing and headlines about successful cyberattacks appear in the media on a daily basis. In its latest report on the state of IT security in Germany, the Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI) notes an overall increase in cyberattacks, as …
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Demystifying international arbitration
This year features as an important one for arbitration in the UK with Scotland hosting the largest international arbitration gathering in the world between 18 to 21 September. The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), accredited as an NGO by the United Nations, is holding its bi-annual conference in Edinburgh, a little over ten years …
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Best practices for preventing legal risks and the role of AI
What are the major pain points that you have experienced as GC when dealing with legal disputes? Dealing with claims against an organisation is a huge drain on resources for any team. Linking to the 80:20 principle, you don’t want to be devoting 80% of your resources to firefighting something that may be worth less …
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Protecting the interests of financial services’ users
Protecting the users of financial services should always be a priority for any government. In order to comply with this obligation, the Mexican state created a government entity to protect the interests of users of financial services, including services rendered and products sold by insurance companies. That entity is the National Commission for the Protection …
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MGA establishment in Ireland
Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, UK authorised insurance intermediaries lost their regulatory permissions under the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) to carry on insurance distribution activities in respect of EU/EEA based risks and commitments.
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The Indian insurance market: key developments
The Indian insurance market is in an exciting phase of development. The market has always been considerably under-insured and this has always made India strategically important for international investors, but three key developments are driving further change. First, regulatory and market developments are facilitating greater M&A activity. Second, the emergence of new distribution channels is …
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Pointers on UAE insurance law and disputes
Insurance is a global business that operates across every jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction has its own set of laws, rules, procedures and nuances. This article summarises basic points of law and procedure, relevant to onshore insurance disputes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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Trending commercial disputes and insurance issues in Hong Kong
As one of the world’s leading financial centres, Hong Kong is home to many financial institutions and international companies. With a common law legal system, Hong Kong’s commercial law and financial regulatory system shares a historical connection to the United Kingdom. However, there are important differences and, in some respects, particularly when it comes to …
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Why employers should engage more with employee mental health
For several years, employers have been urged to do more to look after the mental health of their workforce. Even before the pandemic, in January 2019, mental health at work was a primary discussion topic at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting accompanied by huge estimations of the financial impact, globally, in terms of lost …
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