Within a generation, Ireland has experienced two extremes of economic fortune. ‘The Celtic Tiger’ (a term referring to unprecedented and uninterrupted growth from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s) sickened before 2008, when Ireland faced a deep economic crisis after the property bubble – which the growth was predicated on – burst and consumer spending collapsed.
When the global financial crisis (GFC) loomed over the West, multinationals turned their attentions to emerging markets, including many in Asia Pacific. Fast forward to 2015, and jurisdictions like China, Hong Kong and Singapore are key locations for global business, with a huge amount of foreign investment and a driving seat in the world markets. Continue reading “Green shoots: the growth of newlaw in Asia Pacific”
Catherine McGregor (CM): What are the challenges for in-house legal departments when you’re traversing a large number of geographies and trying to communicate across a dispersed department or business?
Richard Nohe: We look at things from a number of different matrix perspectives. You have the geography or the jurisdiction, you have the line of business, then you have the subject matter expert or centres of expertise. Continue reading “Dinner with GC: New York”
GC: Was law your first career?
Maksim Arefiev (MA): My first profession was as a military translator and I served as an officer in the Russian military forces. I participated in several peacekeeping missions in the former Yugoslavia. While on these missions I not only worked as a translator, but also performed the function of civil observer. I worked on a wide variety of challenging tasks, such as resolving conflicts between the Serbian police and Kosovo Albanians, participating in humanitarian missions, and participating in the investigation of various military crimes. Upon my return from Kosovo, I decided to go to law school and become a lawyer. Continue reading “Shopping around”
Russia, the largest country in the world by territory, has a unique geographic location that allows it to serve as a bridge between Europe and Asia. Emerging from a decade of post-Soviet economic turbulence, the country has moved from economic isolation to become a country that is well-integrated in the global markets. The ‘90s saw privatisation of most sectors in the economy, with the exception of defence and energy. Continue reading “GC Powerlist: Russia”
With pressure to increase capacity, work collaboratively and have management information at the GC’s fingertips, many in-house departments turn to a case management system. A clever one can bridge gaps caused by time zones, streamlining even multinational teams. Continue reading “Your business matters… Top tips for case management”
Is a sales person closing deals worth ‘ten million’ doing a good job? At first glance, it’s impossible to tell. The first thing you need to find out is: what currency? A ten million deal in pounds sterling is better than a ten million deal in US dollars, but the latter is still a decent size. Continue reading “Best practice or not best practice? That is the question”
‘There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.’ So said former US diplomat and politician Henry Kissinger (according to The New York Times Magazine on 1st June 1969). Most of our readers will have had the same thought – perhaps on multiple occasions – but, as veterans of business crises all know: the GC simply has to make time.
Charles Handy is often mistakenly claimed as a homegrown British management guru. He’s actually Irish, but he did spend most of his working life in Britain and still resides in the UK.
Continue reading “The sum of its parts – Charles Handy and the human factor”
In the last few months I’ve been involved in a number of roundtable discussions, World Café events, advisory boards, awards and publication launches, all within the in-house world. I’ve enjoyed the interactions, the company, the humour and the conversation. Some of you may even have met me at one or two of these occassions.
Continue reading “What did you do when you weren’t at the office today?”