Leading the law department: hire the best

For the inside counsel revolution to succeed, the General Counsel must follow a basic dictum: Hire the best. The key to the legal function’s credibility with the CEO and senior line executives is to seek broad-gauge lawyers who are outstanding technical experts, wise counselors and effective leaders to occupy the top specialist jobs in the company and to be general counsel in the main operating divisions. Placing the best people in senior lawyer positions across the company also has great ripple effects, as these individuals, in turn, build their specialty or business legal groups through other outstanding hires.

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Change is imminent

Alison Gaskins’ remit on joining Barclays’ legal department was formidable. Group general counsel Bob Hoyt told her in no uncertain terms, ‘I want to be able to have a conversation with my CEO which clearly states what the legal department is doing for its internal customers, including what it costs and why it costs what it does.’ A former management consultant with over ten years’ experience in COO and change management roles at Barclays, even Gaskins was initially daunted by the scope of this request.

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Myths and millennials – separating buzzword from bunk

As the role of the general counsel in today’s modern corporation continues to evolve, the roles and responsibilities they are expected to fulfil has expanded exponentially. Chief among that growing mandate has been an expectation that the GC is not only an expert in their trained profession, but an effective manager and business partner.

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Inclusive growth

I have responsibility for global diversity for Mastercard. Our chief diversity officer reports to me, along with a team of four professionals. The origin of that comes straight from the top – Ajay Banga our CEO believes diversity should be the responsibility of someone with a global business leadership role. He doesn’t want diversity to only be viewed as an HR function. Then, people put it in a box and think about it in a partial or nice to have way, rather than as the core business enabler it can be. We wanted to create a context where diversity and inclusion is driven in partnership with HR, but as a truly strategic function of leadership.

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GC Roundtable – business leader/business partner/lawyer?

That the role of the general counsel is becoming an increasingly senior and integral part of today’s businesses will be nothing new for readers of GC Magazine. From GCs and partners through to CEOs and politicians, the importance of the role to modern business – from major corporates through to emerging companies – cannot be understated.

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GC Powerlist: Italy

Since the advent of the global financial crisis back in 2008, the emphasis in Europe has been on repairing those economies worst hit. During this period, some states have felt the impact of the economic crisis worse than others and the priority for those has been initiating reforms designed to stimulate their domestic economies, while putting the single market back on the path to prosperity.

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GC Powerlist: France

This year has been a testing time for France both politically and economically. With the country remaining in a state of emergency after the series of terrorist atrocities, which have plagued the nation for the past two years, in addition to a dwindling economy with stagnant growth, political capital is at an all-time low. That’s far from an enviable position for a government struggling to reform and in dire need of finding ways to stimulate the domestic economy and tackle unemployment. Continue reading “GC Powerlist: France”