Profile – The In-House Lawyer

Ahmed Badr – GoCardless

Feature

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.

Anthony Kenny – GSK

Feature

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?

Philip Price – TP ICAP

Feature

The In-House Lawyer (IHL): Describe your career before your current role with TP ICAP and the company today.

Lindsay Beardsell – Tate & Lyle

Feature

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.

Julian Homerstone – Virgin Atlantic

Feature

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.

James Stebbing – Six Nations Rugby and the British & Irish Lions

Feature

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.

Dan Webster – Harrods

Feature

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.

Ria Sanz – AngloGold Ashanti

Feature

The mining firm’s in-house counsel considers the keys to success and the importance of values when heading a legal and compliance team.

Rupert Skellett – Beggars Group

Feature

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.

Sivan Whiteley – Square

Feature

Sivan Whiteley’s legal career began with the study of rational choice theory at university – decoding why people make the decisions they make.

Tweets by The In-House Lawyer

GC Powerlist: Turkey

Congratulations to all the leading general counsel included in the GC Powerlist: Turkey 2019. Many thanks to everyone who attended the launch event at the fabulous Çırağan Palace Kempinski, Istanbul on Thursday 12 March 2020. Thanks also to Kılınç Law & Consulting for their support on this publication. See who made the list here

GC Powerlist: China 2019

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GC Powerlist: Central America Teams 2019

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GC Powerlist: Central and Eastern Europe 2019

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GC Powerlist: Brazil Teams 2019

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Private Practice Powerlist 2019 – The leading US attorneys with a focus on Mexico

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GC Powerlist: Italy Teams 2019

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GC Powerlist: Switzerland Teams 2019

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GC Powerlist: Australia 2019

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GC Powerlist: Norway 2019

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Enterprise GC 2022

Mon 25 Apr 2022 | , England

Venue: Hilton Syon Park, Park Rd, Isleworth, Brentford TW8 8JF

At a glance

Enterprise GC is the marquee, two-day general counsel event from Legalease (the business behind Legal Business and The Legal 500). This will be the fifth year of EGC, held at the Hilton London Syon Park.

The summit gathers more than 100 senior speakers and guests and provides sponsoring partners with a chance to work on a best-in-class event from one of the top legal publishers in the world.

The programme includes plenary sessions, workshops, keynote speeches and roundtables, drawing on the elite of Europe’s in-house profession as well as selected speakers from the wider business and academic community. Another highlight is the Monday-night gala dinner at the historic Syon House.

Agenda

Millennial who? Attracting and retaining the lawyers of tomorrow
As Millennials become the new boomers of the corporate world, we explore what it will take to attract, hire and motivate the lawyers of tomorrow. Will address the hugely-divergent experiences of companies in different sectors, including how to leverage – or work around – your brand when hiring.

Coded messages – tackling the new Corporate Governance Code
Coming effectively into force for premium listed companies in 2020, the code imposed new reporting and governance duties on major plcs. What do GCs need to know?

Talking a good game – in-house D&I under the microscope
2019 saw several high-profile examples of GCs calling out law firms for lack of progress on diversity on both sides of the Atlantic but are in-house teams living up to their own rhetoric? A frank debate assessing the victories and failures of the in-house community.

Bring me the horizon – events that your business needs to know about
Amid a hectic period for regulatory change our panel explores 2021 and beyond to look at the rules, judgments, trends and business developments that should be on the agenda of plcs and their legal teams. What are the five things coming that will matter to your board?

The Mindful Business Charter – can it deliver?
The Mindful Business Charter is the most high-profile attempt by in-house teams and law firms to tackle work-place stress but it has struggled to bring on board in-house teams. We explore the initiative and assess the profession’s wider record on tackling increasingly pressing quality-of-life issues.

A seat at the table – smarter tactics to influence the board
There has never been more pressure for GCs to have effective boardroom skills but support and training are hard to find. We hear from veterans and consider as well the challenge of taking on the company secretary role.

Lifelong learners – executive education for general counsel
There has never been more demand for general counsel to bolster their CVs with leadership training and business but do business schools have much to offer chief legal officers? We look at the options.

#Metoo – The GC challenge
After two years that have generated terrible headlines for the legal profession, we assess the challenges for legal teams in managing poor behaviour in their own companies, the thorny issue of NDAs and ask if problems of harassment demonstrated in private practice extend to in-house teams.

Crossing the floor – GCs taking on commercial roles
Despite much talk of in-house counsel building commercial skills for their day job, few GCs take full-fledged commercial roles. A discussion looking at the practical options for individuals to take revenue generating roles, both to build their long-term legal careers and to permanently cross the floor. Will also address the role of GCs in encouraging secondments and transfers of their team into commercial roles.

Keynote speakers

James Kerr

James Kerr is a leadership and strategy consultant. Most notably he has studied the success of the New Zealand rugby team to uncover their strategies for success. The lessons range from leadership to embracing innovation.

For his best-selling book Legacy. What the All Blacks can teach us about the
business of life – 15 lessons in Leadership, James spent time with the All Blacks witnessing first hand how the team operates. He analyses how the team comes together and what enabled them to move from an impressive 75% win rate to 86% in five years, becoming a dominant force in world rugby, despite hailing from one of the smallest populations.

James’s conclusions have important lessons for anyone involved in leading,
building or working in a team. From having senior players tidy up the dressing
room to focusing everyone’s minds on the ‘core story’ of the team, its culture and its heritage. Other key points include the value placed on recruitment based on character not just talent, how working for a bigger goal delivers bigger performances, and why you should change your game when you’re on top of your game. In addition to writing, James has worked as a consultant for businesses including HSBC, Boeing and Shell, specialising in how to lead change and deliver top teams.

Trevor Faure, CEO, Smarter Law Solutions

Trevor Faure advises law firms and legal departments on performance and efficiency improvement. Author of Smarter Law: transforming busy lawyers into business leaders, he is ‘one of the most creative and systematic thinkers about contemporary business law’ (Ben W. Heineman, former General Electric GC).

A GC since 1990, Faure led existential change at:

EY Global: GC through $60Bn Lehman collapse and Madoff fraud
Tyco International: turnaround team after the Kozlowski scandal almost led to an Enron-style collapse.
Dell EMEA: ‘Dellionaire’ rocket-ride from No.7 to No.1 worldwide.
Apple EMEA: from loss-making spiral to Steve Jobs

Steering committee and speakers

The senior in-house counsel already joining our core advisory group to refine our programme and speak at the event include:

Rosemary Martin – Vodafone
Richard Price – Anglo American
Maaike de Bie – easyJet
Matt Wilson – Uber
Simon Croxford – UBS
Mel Rowlands – Smiths Group
Mark Maurice-Jones – Nestlé
Jeremy Barton – KPMG UK
Elizabeth Messud – Kingfisher
Sonya Rogerson – Bank of China (UK)
Dan Toner – Spire
Rushad Abadan – Standard Life Aberdeen
Hannah Hullah – John Lewis
Mark Gregory – Rolls-Royce
Catherine Johnson – London Stock Exchange
Ruwan De Soyza – Halma
Rob Booth – The Crown Estate
Justine Campbell – Centrica
Laila Coffey – SSQ
Trevor Faure – Smarter Law Solutions

The best of Enterprise GC

GC Powerlist: Denmark 2021

Thu 2 Dec 2021 | , Denmark

Venue: Nimb Hotel, Bernstorffsgade 5, Copenhagen

Agenda

GC Powerlist: Denmark 2021
4.00pm	Arrival and welcome drinks
4.45pm	Speeches
5.00pm	Networking with drinks and canapes
7.00pm	Event concludes

GC Powerlist: UK 2021

Thu 30 Sep 2021 | , England

Venue: JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, 86-90 Park Ln, Mayfair, London W1K 7TN

Agenda

GC Powerlist: UK
5.30pm	Arrival and welcome drinks
6.00pm	Speeches
6.10pm	Drinks continued
6.30pm	Event concludes

GC Powerlist Teams: Australia 2021

Thu 29 Jul 2021 | , Australia

GC Disputes Summit Australia 2021

Tue 27 Jul 2021 | , Australia

Venue: Establishment Ballroom Merivale, 252 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Overview

The inaugural GC Disputes Summit Australia will bring together leading GCs and in-house counsel across the country to discuss how the GC community will adapt to the new regulatory and investigations landscape in light of the Hayne Royal Commission. Panel discussions will range from regulatory investigations and enforcements and associated class action risk, to climate change litigation and cross-border recovery and tracing of assets. Attendees can expect high-profile speakers, plenty of time for debate and discussion, and networking drinks to end the day.

Agenda

GC Disputes Summit – Australia
1.30pm	Registrations
2.00pm	Opening remarks
2.10pm	Panel I – The Rise of the Regulators This session will focus attention on the governance challenges faced by corporates when dealing with what can be a simultaneous triad of (1) regulatory investigation and associated punitive enforcement (be it civil and criminal), (2) associated remediation of customers or systems and (3) associated class actions on behalf of customers or shareholders.
3.00pm	Panel II – Climate change litigation – what is on the horizon and how to mitigate risk for your organisation Climate change is no longer just an ethical issue but now also a financial one. To what extent will a failure to disclose risks to the market expose your organisation? Climate change litigation represent a commercial and reputational risk for corporate Australia. In recent years there has been a number of high profile class actions commenced by shareholders overseas relating to climate change issues. There has also been one such action filed in Australia. What developments can we expect to see for climate change litigation in Australia and what steps can you take to ensure your organisation is prepared? Our panel of leading litigation and ESG experts will discuss the developments in this space including what might lie ahead for climate change litigation in Australia.
3.50pm	Coffee Break
4.05pm	Panel III – Fraud prosecution and enforcement Focus will be on: investigation and prosecution of civil fraud (internally within an organisation or against it by external parties); urgent court actions (freezing search orders and recovering confidential information); and cross-border recovery (including enforcement of foreign judgments) and tracing of assets
4.55pm	Panel IV – Managing board, governance, and reputational risk Australian businesses face an increasingly complex framework of established and evolving legislation and regulations concerning civil, criminal and regulatory risks. Coupled with a landscape with more active regulators, dramatic media headlines, potential personal liability, and where “community expectations” serve as a barometer for assessing corporate behaviour, the task for boards and senior executives in effectively managing conduct risk can seem overwhelming. In this panel we look at how the company’s legal team can help navigate that task.
5.50pm	Closing remarks
6.00pm	Drinks and canapes
8.00pm	Event Concludes

Speakers

Chris Pagent, partner, Corrs

Chris focusses on bet-the-company litigation. He specialises in class actions, securities litigation, white collar, product liability and property claims. He regularly acts for leading financial services institutions, disclosing entities, international manufacturers, public instrumentalities, professional service providers, and c-suite officers.

His expertise is acknowledged in many Australian and international directories, including Chambers Asia Pacific, Who’s Who Legal, Doyles’, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and the Australian Financial Review’s Peer Review.

Chris is a member of the Law Council of Australia’s Class Action Committee, the National Product Liability Association and the Defence Research Institute.

Andrew Korbel, partner, Corrs

Andrew is an experienced litigator and has been a trusted adviser to both the private sector and government for more than 20 years. He works with clients to resolve complex and high-value commercial disputes, and protects their interests in inquiries and investigations.

His recent experience ranges from massive corporate collapses to telco network joint venture disputes, and large-scale litigation between government and global pharma.

Andrew also helps importers, exporters and industry bodies to navigate trade investigations, and disputes arising from them, in Australia and internationally.

Mark Wilks, partner, Corrs

A leading litigator who is involved in some of the most valuable litigation in Australia involving assets worth billions of dollars, Mark has more than 20 years’ experience in ‘bet the company’ disputes, and is recognised as a market leader in this area.

His practice primarily focuses on financial services and resources, while his experience also spans a range of other areas including class actions and media. He has also been involved in some of Australia’s largest insolvencies, advising banks, investors, creditors, trustee companies, directors and insolvency professionals.

Mark regularly appears on his clients’ behalf before superior and appeal courts, including the High Court of Australia, and in confidential commercial arbitrations. He has consistently been listed as a leading lawyer by legal directories and publications including Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Best Lawyers.

Mark is a member of the Insolvency and Restructuring Subcommittee at the Law Council of Australia.

Tim Case, partner, McCullough Robertson

Tim is a partner in McCullough Robertson’s litigation and dispute resolution group, where he practices commercial litigation across a range of industries. Tim has a particular interest in the investigation and prosecution of fraud related matters. He also has extensive experience in conducting the defence of regulatory proceedings, as well as the independent investigation of Crime & Corruption Commission complaints.

GC Summer Reception UK 2021

Tue 13 Jul 2021 | , United Kingdom

Venue:

Savage Garden LDN
12th Floor, Doubletree By Hilton Hotel London, Tower Of London, 7 Pepys St, London EC3N 4AF

ARRIVAL:

6.30pm

Time:

6.30pm – 10.00pm

Agenda

GC Summer Reception UK 2021
6.30pm	Arrival and welcome drinks
7.15pm	Speeches
7.30pm	Drinks and networking
10.00pm	Event concludes

GC Summit Ireland 2021

Thu 8 Jul 2021 | , Ireland

GC Powerlist: Benelux 2021

Wed 30 Jun 2021 | , Belgium

Agenda

GC Powerlist: Benelux 2020
6.00pm	Registration and complementary drinks
6.30pm	Speeches
7.00pm	Drinks and canapés
9.00pm	Event concludes

GC Powerlist: South Africa 2021

Thu 24 Jun 2021 | , South Africa

GC Powerlist: Southeast Asia Teams 2021

Tue 18 May 2021 | , Singapore