Team size: 24

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

My work has focused on helping FSCS translate an ambitious new 5-year strategy into practical, legally robust delivery. This has included shaping a more scalable, technology-enabled operating model; strengthening the organisation’s approach to legal risk and decision-making; and developing our recoveries strategy so that we continue to pursue value for the financial services industry where compensation has been paid following firm failure. My role is often to bring clarity to complex, high-stakes issues, align legal judgement with organisational purpose and help colleagues move forward confidently.

Please provide a brief description of any internal transformation or development projects within your legal team over the last twelve months.

We have been repositioning Legal as an enabling, enterprise-wide function rather than a traditional advisory service. That includes modernising how we source and manage external legal support, piloting AI-assisted legal workflows and embedding clearer frameworks so that sound legal judgement can be exercised closer to the point of decision. The aim is not simply greater efficiency, but a legal service that is more accessible, consistent and capable of scaling with the organisation’s needs.

How do you balance commercial objectives with legal risk?

I start with the outcome the organisation is trying to achieve, rather than with the legal issue in isolation. The lawyer’s role is to make risk intelligible, identify genuine constraints and create lawful routes to delivery. In a purpose-led organisation, that also means looking beyond what can be done to what should be done, taking account of fairness, reputation and long-term trust and confidence.

What are the most important attributes of the modern GC?

Judgement, clarity, curiosity and courage. A modern GC must understand the organisation deeply, use storytelling as a communication device and be prepared both to challenge and to help solve the problem. For aspiring in-house lawyers, my advice is to learn the business, stay close to the people delivering the work and remember that influence is earned through practical insight and trust, not long academic legal advice!

How do you use AI while maintaining quality, governance and integrity?

We are testing AI in controlled, human-led workflows where it can accelerate analysis, improve access to legal knowledge and free our lawyers to focus on judgement-intensive work. Clear use cases, with appropriate guardrails, verification of outputs and accountable human decision-making are all essential. AI will not remove the need for lawyers; but it will raise the premium on judgement, assurance and the ability to ask the right questions.

How do you help drive strong governance and ethical decision-making?

I see governance as a means of improving decisions, not slowing them down. My role is to ensure that the right issues are surfaced early, responsibilities are clear and decision-makers understand both the immediate legal position and the wider consequences. The strongest legal functions create an environment in which colleagues feel able to raise uncertainty, test assumptions and make principled decisions at pace.