About

Supporting legal operations across Qatar, UAE and France, efficiency is key for Oliver Hallsworth’s three-strong team, and as acting GC, he has focused on optimising time and resources. With measures such as reorganising law firm panels, he has achieved significant cumulative costs reduction over the past three years. Convincing an organisation of legal’s ‘value-add’, he admits, can be a challenge. ‘An exceptional manager’ and ‘a constant source of excellence and practical insights’, Hallsworth’s diverse investment, regulatory and private banking background has included UBS, Citibank and Lehman Brothers, where he managed Wembley Stadium’s financing. He also directed UBS Jersey’s successful FATCA audit by the US Department of Justice, over a nine-month period. When working with outside counsel, Hallsworth dislikes the ‘culture of billable hours’. ‘I don’t want or expect the clock to be running every time I pick up the telephone’, he says. He also recommends a greater openness and ‘innovation’ in the use of technology.