Intellectual property law has for centuries formed the basis of a system designed to protect invention and promote innovation. But a rise in abusive, oftentimes frivolous, litigation is prompting a rethink of patent law – with the United States front and centre as potential reform looms.
In a guest editorial for GC Magazine, Michael Fahey makes the case for why the modern general counsel should not shy away from risk – but rather embrace it to produce optimal outcomes for their business.
In the Autumn issue of GC Magazine, our feature Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader considered the work of INSEAD professor Herminia Ibarra – reflecting on leadership in relation to the experiences of general counsel. In this follow up, we speak to Professor Ibarra for her views on how leadership and the GC role intersect.
Mastercard’s general counsel Tim Murphy is in the unusual position of having not just overall responsibility for the legal function, but for diversity and inclusion across the company. Murphy sat down with GC to discuss a global diversity agenda and the unique role of lawyers in pushing progress.
Leading the legal function for French headquartered Airbus, group general counsel John Harrison sits down with GC to discuss the intricacies involved with cross-border defence work and the unique challenges inherent for a company with an order book topping €900 billion.
Ben Heineman was GE’s senior vice president-general counsel from 1987-2003 and then GE’s senior vice president for law and public affairs from 2004 until his retirement at the end of 2005. In this exclusive excerpt from his new book, The Inside Counsel Revolution: Resolving the Partner-Guardian Tension (Ankerwycke, April, 2016), he distils his own philosophy for transformational hiring and getting the most from your personnel.
Barclays has been in the midst of a two-year programme of change, focused on introducing transparency to the legal function regarding its costs and commercial performance for the business. GC caught up with general counsel Bob Hoyt’s chief of staff, Alison Gaskins, at the bank’s headquarters in London to learn how this process has played out and where to from here.
The legal profession is increasingly obsessed with the challenge of engaging Millennial lawyers. But just who are they and why is finding a way to effectively harness their talents essential to the future of the legal profession?
