About

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 the 2019 Powerlist after successfully battling increasing responsibilities and regulations. Toner, who joined Spire in 2007, has seen his role change significantly in recent years. Firstly, in 2014, the company listed on the London Stock Exchange, with the listing bringing an increased workload. As a result, he says ‘there’s obviously more investor relations involved, and my role is more meetings and governance’.

But in a trend not unique to Spire, Toner has also been forced to get to grips with an ever-rising wave of regulation, a force that has changed his industry. The healthcare sector used to rely much more on local cottage hospitals, but Toner notes: ‘It’s much more highly regulated now. As a lawyer, part of your role is to deal with any change in the business. It’s really interesting to reinvent yourself. What’s expected from GCs across all businesses is much greater than it used to be. But with great responsibility comes great reward.’

A point of pride for Toner is the way his team procures legal services. He describes them as ‘a reasonably sophisticated legal team from private practice’, who ‘know the market pretty well’. Rather than operating any kind of formal panel, the Spire legal function will go directly to a trusted individual when needed. ‘It’s horses for courses really.’

Despite noting the increasing sophistication of in-house legal, Toner is bullish about the size of his own team. With a modest ten lawyers, Toner is comfortable: ‘We have a good balance with our resources and we have reached our optimal point in terms of value for money.’

And, as for a return to private practice, he emphatically rules it out: ‘The money isn’t as good, but you can find the intellectual challenge if that’s what you’re into. I would certainly never do anything else.’