United Kingdom 2019 – GC Powerlist
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United Kingdom 2019

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Adrian Morris

Retail and Consumer Products | Tesco

Team size: 200 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Pinsent Masons The GC hot seat at Tesco is not to be taken...

Alan Porter

Insurance | Prudential

Team size: 150 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Norton Rose Fulbright, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom,...

Alice Hou

TMT | Citymapper

Team size: 2 Major law firms used: Taylor Wessing In early 2016, transport app Citymapper rose $40m of Series B financing from Index Ventures and Benchmark Capital, the latter a...

Alice Marsden

Retail and Consumer Products | Thomas Cook

Team size: 40 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Latham & Watkins, Lighthouse Law, Slaughter and May When profiled for last year’s GC Powerlist,...

Alison Charnock

Retail and Consumer Products | Wm Morrison Supermarkets

Team size: 10 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Ashurst, DWF, Eversheds Sutherland, Shoosmiths It has been a difficult time at £17bn-turnover, listed supermarket giant Morrisons. Major litigation over...

Alison Kay

Energy | National Grid

Team size: 200 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, BDB Pitmans, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Dentons, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills, Irwin Mitchell,...

Amanda Hamilton-Stanley

Retail and Consumer Products | Pernod Ricard

Team size: 35 in the HQ team Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, DWF, Macfarlanes, RPC, Shepherd and Wedderburn Amanda Hamilton-Stanley is relishing the opportunity of being group GC of...

Andrea Harris

TMT | WPP

Team size: 130 (22 core team) Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Bristows, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, Simkins, Slaughter and May The world’s largest marketing and public relations...

Andrew Fleming

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | British Airways

Team size: 28 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, Linklaters, Slaughter and May Andrew Fleming was just 31 years old when he landed the head of...

Angus McBride

TMT | News UK

Team size: 24 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Hogan Lovells, Kingsley Napley, Lewis Silkin, Taylor Wessing, Wiggin As GC of The Sun publisher News UK, Angus McBride has...

Anna Cosgrave

Retail and Consumer Products | graze

Team size: 2 Major law firms used: Charles Russell Speechlys, Keystone Law, mpm legal, Shoosmiths, Travers Smith Anna Cosgrave has not looked back after swapping a high-flying M&A role at...

Bjarne Tellmann

TMT | Pearson

Team size: 170 Major law firms used: Charles Russell Speechlys, DLA Piper, DWF, Fieldfisher, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Kemp Little, Pinsent Masons The GC and chief legal officer...

Bob Hoyt

Banks and professional services | Barclays

Team size: 840 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Dentons, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons, Simmons & Simmons, White & Case ‘You don’t want a...

Brona McKeown

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | British Land

Team size: 13 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Jones Day, Mayer Brown, Simmons & Simmons Brona McKeown joined FTSE 100 real...

Bronagh Kennedy

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Severn Trent

Team size: 10 Major law firms used: Eversheds Sutherland ‘I’ve been trying to focus on what drives risk and what drives poor behaviour,’ Severn Trent group GC and company secretary...

Carol Hui

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Heathrow Airport Holdings

Team size: 25 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Eversheds Sutherland, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Owen White, Pinsent Masons, Towerhouse Carol Hui has been GC at...

Caroline Kenny

TMT | Facebook

Team size: 35 Major law firms used: Baker McKenzie, Lewis Silkin, Osborne Clarke, RPC ‘Kenny is well known in the legal world and a true specialist in the digital market,’...

Carolyn Jameson

TMT | Skyscanner

Team size: 12 Major law firms used: Bird & Bird, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Pinsent Masons The remit of Skyscanner chief legal officer Carolyn Jameson inevitably expanded following the...

Catherine Johnson

Banks and professional services | London Stock Exchange Group

Team size: 50 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Lawyers On Demand, Radiant Law A pioneering use of alternative legal providers has contributed to Catherine...

Charles Barter

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Bridgepoint

Team size: 4 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins, Macfarlanes, Ropes & Gray, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Slaughter and May, Taylor Wessing, Travers Smith The well-known former...

Charlotte Heiss

Insurance | RSA

Team size: 25 Major law firms used: Linklaters, RPC, Slaughter and May Charlotte Heiss’s career has gone from strength to strength since being named as a Rising Star in the...

Chris Newby

Insurance | AIG

Team size: 140 Major law firms used: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Clifford Chance, Clyde & Co, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Macfarlanes, RPC, Womble Bond Dickinson ‘We’re in...

Claire Chapman

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Capita

Team size: 35 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, DWF, Eversheds Sutherland, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons Claire Chapman became chief GC of outsourcing company Capita in mid-2018. She was the company’s...

Clare Wardle

Retail and Consumer Products | Coca-Cola European Partners

Team size: 100 Major law firms used: CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Gowling WLG, Norton Rose Fulbright, RPC, Shearman & Sterling, Slaughter and May, Squire Patton Boggs, Womble Bond Dickinson...

Dan Guildford

TMT | The Financial Times

Team size: 19 Major law firms used: Bristows, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, DLA Piper, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Pinsent Masons Dan Guildford, GC of The Financial Times (FT), featured in...

Daniel Toner

Chemicals, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals | Spire Healthcare

Team size: 10 Major law firms used:CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, DAC Beachcroft, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Kennedys, Pinsent Masons, RPC, Wedlake Bell Daniel Toner, GC of Spire Healthcare, features in...

David Eveleigh

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Serco Group

Team size: 45 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, DWF, Pinsent Masons ‘I was the company’s first general counsel,’ Serco Group’s David Eveleigh recalls about his...

David Fein

Banks and professional services | Standard Chartered

Team size: 600 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Dentons, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Slaughter and May Geopolitical risk – as well as...

Dean Nash

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Monzo Bank

Team size: 9 Major law firms used: Hogan Lovells, Simmons & Simmons, Taylor Wessing Monzo Bank has seen meteoric growth since being founded in 2015, having already become the UK’s...

Donna Rix

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Citadel Europe

Team size: 12 Major law firms used: Arthur Cox, Latham & Watkins, Lewis Silkin, Linklaters, Matheson, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sidley Austin, Simmons & Simmons, Slaughter and May Donna Rix, GC...

Donny Ching

Energy | Royal Dutch Shell

Team size: 1,014 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Eversheds Sutherland, Norton Rose Fulbright, Reed Smith ‘Part of the thinking we now have within Shell...

Edward Davis

Insurance | AXA UK

Team size: 30 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, DAC Beachcroft, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons It has been a frenetic few years at the UK arm of French insurer...

Edward Smith

TMT | Telefónica UK

Team size: 31 Major law firms used: DWF, Herbert Smith Freehills, Shoosmiths, Simmons & Simmons For GC Edward Smith and the Telefónica legal function, the past year can be split...

Elizabeth Messud

Retail and Consumer Products | Kingfisher

Team size: 60 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Bird & Bird, Clyde & Co, Eversheds Sutherland, Foot Anstey, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy,...

Emma Slatter

Banks and professional services | Visa Europe

Team size: 60 Major law firms used: Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Lewis Silkin, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons, PwC Legal ‘She has shown good leadership and has got the...

Erica Handling

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | BlackRock

Team size: 60 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters US-based BlackRock is the world’s largest asset management company with nearly $6trn in assets under management. EMEA...

Eva Sanchez

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | AQR Capital Management

Team size: 10+ Major law firms used: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Simmons & Simmons AQR Capital Management GC and head of compliance Eva Sanchez has been kept busy since joining...

Geoffrey Timms

Insurance | Legal & General

Team size: 22 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, Eversheds Sutherland, Pinsent Masons, Slaughter and May ‘He’s an average musician,’ says Legal & General chief executive Nigel Wilson of his...

Grant Dawson

Energy | Centrica

Team size: 265 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Eversheds Sutherland, Norton Rose Fulbright, Slaughter and May The long-serving GC of Centrica, Grant Dawson, has been one of...

Heather Mitchell

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | The Carlyle Group

Team size: 14 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Ropes & Gray Anti-bribery and corruption regulations...

Helen Mason

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Morgan Sindall Group

Team size: 6 Major law firms used: Pinsent Masons, RPC, Slaughter and May ‘One of our challenges is to buck the perception that all construction is bad,’ says the GC...

Hugh Pugsley

Banks and professional services | HSBC

Team size: 1,200 (75 in the UK) Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Addleshaw Goddard, Dentons, Eversheds Sutherland, Hogan Lovells, Norton Rose Fulbright, Pinsent Masons, Simmons & Simmons For...

James Conyers

TMT | Sky

Team size: 90 in the UK Major law firms used: Herbert Smith Freehills It will be the end of an era when James Conyers steps down as Sky’s GC this...

Jenifer Swallow

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | TransferWise

Team size: 7 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, JAG Shaw Baker, Paul Hastings At payment firm TransferWise, GC Jenifer Swallow says everyone ages in dog years: ‘There’s just...

Jeremy Barton

Banks and professional services | KPMG

Team size: 39 Major law firms used: DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons Jeremy Barton, GC of Big Four firm KPMG, is one of the leading lights...

Joanna Nayler

Insurance | Just Group

Team size: 12 Major law firms used: Clyde & Co, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Macfarlanes, Pinsent Masons, Slaughter and May, Taylor Wessing” Joanna Nayler, group GC at...

John Collins

Banks and professional services | Santander

Team size: 500 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Eversheds Sutherland, Hogan Lovells, Reed Smith, Slaughter and May, TLT John Collins attracted headlines in December 2015 when he...

John Stone

Retail and Consumer Products | Amazon

Team size: 80 Major law firms used: Taylor Wessing If you are not unashamedly customer focused, a career working at Amazon might not be for you. As John Stone, Amazon’s...

Karen Kerrigan

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Seedrs

Team size: 15 Major law firms used: Fieldfisher, Penningtons Manches, Simmons & Simmons Karen Kerrigan has been at the front line for crowdfunder Seedrs since its conception in 2012. Her...

Kate Burns

Retail and Consumer Products | Notonthehighstreet

Team size: 3 Major law firms used: F-Lex, Keystone Law, Lawyers On Demand, Osborne Clarke It is hard to picture a more drastic change of scenery: swapping 15 years of...

Kate Cheetham

Banks and professional services | Lloyds Banking Group

Team size: Around 300 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Ashurst, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters Kate Cheetham is...

Kirsty Cooper

Insurance | Aviva

Team size: 360 Major law firms used:Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons, Slaughter and May People have been on Aviva group GC and company secretary...

Lauren Livingston

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | CVC Capital Partners

Team size: 9 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Latham & Watkins, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, White & Case ‘I am told by my mother that I...

Lisa Gan Tomlins

Retail and Consumer Products | MADE.COM

Team size: 3 Major law firms used: Three Major law firms used: Bird & Bird, Gowling WLG, Lewis Silkin, Osborne Clarke Lisa Tomlins, a former senior lawyer at online takeaway...

Liz Tanner

Energy | SSE

Team size: 75 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer After a merger-induced interlude, SSE’s GC Liz Tanner has stepped back into the...

Lucy Vernall

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Funding Circle

Team size: 32 Major law firms used: Ashurst, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Simmons & Simmons, Womble Bond Dickinson Peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle capitalised on its status as...

Lynsey Nicoll

Retail and Consumer Products | Heineken UK

Team size: 10 Major law firms used: DLA Piper In 2017, the UK arm of global brewing giant Heineken made a substantial £403m acquisition of around 1,900 pubs owned by...

Maaike de Bie

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Royal Mail

Team size: 40 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Dentons, Herbert Smith Freehills, Slaughter and May Despite resigning as GC of Royal Mail in 2018 in favour of switching to...

Margaret Cole

Banks and professional services | PwC

Team size: 36 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters, Norton Rose Fulbright, Taylor Wessing You would have to go a long...

Mark Chapman

Banks and professional services | Nationwide Building Society

Team size: 55 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Eversheds Sutherland, Linklaters According to Mark Chapman, GC and society secretary at Nationwide Building Society, it is ‘watershed...

Mark Gregory

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Rolls-Royce

Team size: 70 Major law firms used: Eversheds Sutherland, Slaughter and May ‘It’s been a hell of a busy year,’ reflects Rolls-Royce GC Mark Gregory. The back end of a...

Mark Maurice-Jones

Retail and Consumer Products | Nestlé

Team size: 7 Major law firms used: CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Eversheds Sutherland, Linklaters Most are aware of the stringent regulation that modern banking GCs must contend with, but...

Martin Bowen

Retail and Consumer Products | Dyson

Team size: 200 Major law firms used: Baker McKenzie, Gowling WLG, Osborne Clarke, Eversheds Sutherland, Kim & Chang, Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom In January, Dyson...

Matthew Wilson

TMT | Uber

Team size: 50 Major law firms used: Covington & Burling, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, NautaDutilh ‘Matt Wilson at Uber is someone who...

Mel Rowlands

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Smiths Group

Team size: 75 Major law firms used: Eversheds Sutherland, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, Whitecap Legal ‘I’m extremely passionate about being an in-house lawyer, and I’m all for being very...

Michael Shaw

Banks and professional services | The Royal Bank of Scotland

Team size: 300 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters ‘We are increasingly ensuring our lawyers, save for where they absolutely have to be...

Mine Hifzi

TMT | Virgin Media

Team size: 45 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Bird & Bird, Burges Salmon, Dentons, Harbottle & Lewis, Herbert Smith Freehills, Macfarlanes, RPC, Womble Bond Dickinson Virgin Media...

Monica Risam

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Lombard International Assurance

Team size: 40 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, Linklaters Monica Risam, the highly regarded former Aviva UK Life GC, joined Luxembourg wealth-structuring company Lombard...

Neil Murrin

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Trainline

Team size: 10 Major law firms used: Baker McKenzie, Fieldfisher, Kemp Little As the GC of a constantly evolving mobile ticketing app, Neil Murrin has had to keep up with...

Neill Abrams

Retail and Consumer Products | Ocado

Team size: 28 Major law firms used: McKenzie, DWF, Fladgate, Herbert Smith Freehills, Shepherd and Wedderburn, Slaughter and May ‘I went from banker to in-house lawyer to barrister to grocery...

Nicholas Ansbro

Energy | Gazprom Marketing & Trading

Team size: 24 Major law firms used: Baker Botts, Herbert Smith Freehills, Holman Fenwick Willan, Lewis Silkin Nicholas Ansbro, the long-serving GC of Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GMT), has had...

Nick Grant

Retail and Consumer Products | Sainsbury’s

Team size: 28 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Dentons, Linklaters Nick Grant stands among the veterans of the in-house community, acting as Sainsbury’s head...

Nigel Paterson

Retail and Consumer Products | Dixons Carphone

Team size: 47 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer The last five years have seen Dixons Carphone unify its operations following the £3.8bn merger between...

Paul Lister

Retail and Consumer Products | Associated British Foods

Team size: 65 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith Freehills, Macfarlanes ‘We should have a lean team,’ comments Associated British Foods (ABF) director of legal...

Penny Dudley

Chemicals, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals | Bupa

Team size: 174 Major law firms used: Herbert Smith Freehills, Slaughter and May, White & Case International healthcare company Bupa had a busy year for M&A in 2018. The company...

Philip Bramwell

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | BAE Systems

Team size: 250 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Eversheds Sutherland, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer The experienced and influential group general counsel of defence multinational BAE Systems, Philip Bramwell, has...

Philip Richards

Energy | Rio Tinto

Team size: 150 Major law firms used: Allens, Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters, Norton Rose Fulbright, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Sullivan & Cromwell A high-profile bribery investigation in Africa...

Rachel Wheeler

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | GAM

Team size: 30 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Homburger, Macfarlanes Rachel Wheeler was already regarded as one of Aviva’s leading in-house lawyers before...

Richard Price

Energy | Anglo American

Team size: 80 Major law firms used: Linklaters, Shearman & Sterling Richard Price left behind more than 20 years in private practice to become group GC and company secretary at...

Ritva Sotamaa

Retail and Consumer Products | Unilever

Team size: 500 Major law firms used: Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Linklaters ‘Everything is just getting faster,’ says Unilever chief legal officer and group secretary Ritva Sotamaa. ‘The...

Rob Booth

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | The Crown Estate

Team size: 18 Major law firms used: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Hogan Lovells Originally featuring as a Rising Star in the 2014 GC Powerlist, The...

Rosemary Martin

TMT | Vodafone

Team size: 500 Major law firms used: Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Norton Rose Fulbright, Osborne Clarke, Slaughter and May, Squire Patton Boggs, Wiggin A long-standing ambassador for the in-house legal profession,...

Rushad Abadan

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Standard Life Aberdeen

Team size: 100 Major law firms used: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Slaughter and May Rushad Abadan, GC of asset management firm Standard Life Aberdeen, has earned a strong reputation for persevering...

Ruwan De Soyza

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Worldpay

Team size: 24 Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Sidley Austin, Wiggin When Ruwan De Soyza, deputy group GC of Worldpay, moves on later this year, the newly merged...

Team size: 388 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Axiom, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Halebury, Matheson, Paralaw, Reed Smith...

Sajid Hussein

Banks and professional services | Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Team size: 150+ Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Shearman & Sterling, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom GC Powerlist regular Sajid Hussein...

Sam Ross

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | WorldRemit

Team size: 7 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Bird & Bird, Orrick, Slaughter and May, Stephenson Harwood ‘If you want to join a start-up like WorldRemit, make sure you...

Sarah Jones

TMT | BBC

Team size: 55 Major law firms used: CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Fieldfisher Perhaps unsurprisingly, the BBC was heavily in the public eye throughout 2018. But unusually for GC Sarah...

Sarah Nelson Smith

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | WeWork

Team size: 75 Major law firms used: Eversheds Sutherland, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, Whitecap Legal A few years ago, Sarah Nelson Smith was dealing with documentaries about chickens. Now...

Sean Roberts

Chemicals, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals | GSK Consumer Healthcare

Team size: 55 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Bird & Bird, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Kirkland & Ellis, Simmons & Simmons, Slaughter and...

Simon Cresswell

Fintech, Sponsors and Investors | Apax Partners

Team size: 2 Major law firms used: Clifford Chance, Kirkland & Ellis, Ropes & Gray, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett A leading City partner at a US law firm describes Apax...

Simon Croxford

Banks and professional services | UBS

Team size: 200 (700 globally) Major law firms used: Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Herbert Smith Freehills, Mayer Brown Simon Croxford...

Simon Farrant

Chemicals, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals | Johnson Matthey

Team size: 160 Major law firms used: Baker McKenzie, Herbert Smith Freehills Simon Farrant at Johnson Matthey is described as an ‘under the radar’ GC. ‘He’s forward thinking and championed...

Siobhán Moriarty

Retail and Consumer Products | Diageo

Team size: 252 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Bristows, Slaughter and May Diageo’s Siobhán Moriarty has long been well regarded by the in-house community. Already GC of the multinational...

Sonya Branch

Banks and professional services | Bank of England

Team size: 150 Major law firms used: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, White & Case Patrick Sarch, corporate partner at White & Case, describes Bank of England GC Sonya Branch as his...

Spencer Davis

TMT | Daily Mail and General Trust

Team size: 23 Major law firms used: Bird & Bird, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Reed Smith, Slaughter and May For Spencer Davis, GC of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), last...

Stephen Godsell

TMT | Guardian Media Group

Team size: 4 Major law firms used: Ashfords, Baker McKenzie, Bristows, DAC Beachcroft, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Greenberg Traurig, MinterEllison Three years ago, The Guardian was running a significant operating loss,...

Stretch Kontelj

Retail and Consumer Products | Specsavers

Team size: 55 Major law firms used: BLM, Blake Morgan, Eversheds Sutherland, Hill Dickinson, Womble Bond Dickinson Srechko Jernej Kontelj, commonly known as Stretch, is not your typical in-house legal...

Stuart Kelly

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Network Rail

Team size: 26 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Clifford Chance, Eversheds Sutherland Network Rail GC Stuart Kelly has faced constant change since taking the top legal job two years...

Tim Ashby

Real Estate, Transport and Infrastructure | Land Securities Group

Team size: 5 Major law firms used: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland Land Securities Group (Landsec) GC Tim Ashby has gone from...

Verity Chase

Retail and Consumer Products | Marks and Spencer

Team size: 30 Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, DWF, Gowling WLG, Lewis Silkin, Osborne Clarke, Slaughter and May Verity Chase is the highly regarded...

Vicky Sandry

TMT | Sky

Team size: 90 in the UK Major law firms used: Herbert Smith Freehills It will be the end of an era when James Conyers steps down as Sky’s GC this...

The research process for the GC Powerlist has grown substantially since the first report was published in 2013, and now encompasses online nominations as well as substantial interviews with senior general counsel (GCs) and private practitioners.

The first stage for the 2019 report began in early December with the launch of an online survey to canvass recommendations for outstanding GCs.. …read more

The online survey posed the following questions:

  • Which individual GC would you highlight as outstanding in terms of performance and overall contribution?
  • What qualities would you say make this lawyer outstanding?
  • What career achievements would you highlight that illustrate their abilities and potential?

Separately, a team of journalists in November began researching the report via interviews with senior lawyers in-house and private practice to canvass nominations. The core team comprised corporate counsel editor Hamish McNicol and senior reporter Tom Baker, who have regularly covered in-house and deal with GCs for Legal Business and The In-House Lawyer, as well as research writer and reporter Anna Cole-Bailey. City editor Nathalie Tidman, senior reporter Marco Cillario and reporter Thomas Alan also contributed with extensive private practice interviews.

The research period continued into mid-February, with the final names reviewed by Legal Business’s editors, from which we aimed to draw up a list of 102 outstanding individuals.

With the core research, we were looking to individuals that have a strong track record in developing talent, implementing inventive and thoughtful new projects and systems, and those with a demonstrable record of working on successful initiatives.

Weight was given to individuals that received multiple recommendations or those that could demonstrate commercial qualities beyond legal skills. Even more weight was given to the seniority and credibility of those nominating or vouching for individuals. We in addition often looked for credible third-party citations.

RPC

RPC logo

Vision, purpose, focus. In my experience as a managing partner, these are essential ingredients for high performance organisations; essential ingredients for high performance teams; and essential ingredients for high performance individuals.

The GC Powerlist 2019 backs that up. And with some impact.

From cover to cover, the Powerlist is a ‘who’s who’ of senior in-house lawyers who have demonstrated the vision, purpose and focus to run legal teams that add true commercial value to their businesses. And that value is increasingly recognised at the highest level. Many of the GCs listed have already taken that coveted step to occupy a seat at the boardroom table; the rest are well on their way.

Of course, clarity of vision, purpose, and focus – while critical – can only take you so far. It’s the values you espouse and the behaviours that you demonstrate day to day which determine the
extent to which you succeed – or fail – in achieving your ambitions. And in helping your organisations achieve theirs.

Many of the most successful GCs we come across at RPC – a good number of whom I’m pleased to see in this year’s Powerlist – are cut from a common cloth. They share a single-minded service mindset, acutely focused on cutting through the background noise to deliver solutions, simply and effectively.

Client focus, for them, is second nature. It’s the starting point. They put the interests of their internal clients – and the business as a whole – front and centre in every decision they make. And they are disciplined in their approach to delivering on the commitments they make, big and small.

The true leaders are supremely collaborative. They work together inside and outside their teams – inside and outside their organisations – to bring out the best in each other for the good of the business, and the good of the people they work with.

And finally – as I wrote about at length here last year – they understand the value of diversity, in its broadest sense. By that I mean diversity of thought, diversity of experience and diversity of leadership. Importantly, they don’t just understand it, they deliver on it.

There are, of course, many differences between running a law firm and running an in-house legal team. But it strikes me that – as with these values – there are many similarities, too. Like a managing partner, GCs must focus on consistently providing the business with the best technical and commercial advice; they must deliver on their commitments to clients, all the time, every time; and, to achieve this, they must bring out the best in the people around them.

Those are the disciplines, the values, and the behaviours I obsess about at RPC. Looking through the Powerlist – and reading about the achievements of those included – tells me we in private practice can continue to learn a lot from looking at the way our in-house counterparts operate.

At RPC, we’ve been involved with the GC Powerlist since its inception over seven years ago, and we’ve certainly learned plenty along the way. It was then – and it remains now – the definitive line-up of the leading and most forward-thinking in-house lawyers in the market.

Congratulations to all those featured.

James Miller
Managing partner Tel: 020 3060 6517
james.miller@rpc.co.uk

GC Summit Hong Kong 2024

The Legal 500’s first-ever fully-fledged GC Summit event in Hong Kong brought together 150 of the top in-house counsel in the East Asian economic powerhouse’s legal scene. An uncompromised success, the agenda featured discussions which ran the full gamut of issues facing corporate counsel both here and further afield, recognising the international mindset of those in attendance.

Vanessa Cheung of PCCW kicked off the agenda with a rousing speech on the responsibilities and opportunities of a modern general counsel, setting the tone for the sessions which followed.

Maria Sit of Dechert, Andrew Ning of Greater Bay Area Homeland Investments, Henry Chambers of Alvarez & Marsal and Raymond Yip of BNY Mellon then took centre stage for their talk on internal investigations. This discussion saw a hugely distinguished panel take an elevated look at the then current best practice for internal investigations, providing crucial insights throughout.

Kathryn Weaver of Seyfarth Shaw then expertly helmed a panel discussion on DEIB matters, leading from the front with her unique, knowledgeable and engaging style. Shogo Osaka, of  FedEx Express, Eddie Chan of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Amin Kassam of Bloomberg and Winnie Ma of Lung Properties joined Kathryn on stage and each brought their own unique perspective as DEIB advocates in their organisations.

Quentin Pak and Emily Tillett of Burford Capital were then joined by Do Do Chan of Emperor Group, Paul Quinn of Kirkland & Ellis and Ben Bury of Gammon Construction to interrogate the new possibilities given to in-house legal teams by exploring third-party funding options. As well as revenue generation possibilities, methods for relaxing workloads on in-house legal teams were looked into, provoking many audience members to catch up with them in the coffee break afterwards.

We then moved on to the cybercrime arena, unfortunately an increasing worry for corporate counsel around the world. An expert panel was on hand to help ease the fears of those in the audience. Wilfred Ng and Danny Leung of Bird & Bird sat with Adrian See of Chanel and Daniel Shih of Pepsico to look into case studies, horror stories and mitigation efforts, as well as what new threats may be on the horizon.

Closing out the conference was Kay McArdle of Equal Justice, our official charity partner for the event. An organisation whose goal is to ensure legal representation for all in Hong Kong, not just the ‘haves’, McArdle expertly advocated for the goals of the organisation and the great work that they do. It was a poignant and fitting way to end the event.