Team size: 14

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values?

External counsel retained by Virgin Atlantic general counsel’s office must align with our company’s values. Our vision is to be the most loved travel company by harnessing the power of our people and our brand to deliver the most loved journeys for our customers.

In-house and external team members are expected to help Virgin Atlantic outthink and outperform the opposition. We look for talented individuals who are at the top of their game, and empower our staff and external lawyers, seeking to create an inclusive culture. We expect our team to make things happen, keeping legal risks within tolerable limits while ensuring that the business can capitalise on commercial opportunities as they arise. If a team member, regardless of seniority, disagrees with a course of action or sees something going wrong, they are encouraged to speak up. All voices count and everyone should feel empowered to contribute and get involved.

We have no current plans to reconsider what firms we work with. Our key advisers appointed by Virgin Atlantic’s general counsel office will continue to be selected as subject matter experts who display the ‘Virgin Flare’, know our business and can get the job done, providing added value while retaining a sense of humor.

In general, what would you like to see change about the external law firms you use?

One of the key challenges for many in-house teams remains how to engage law firms on a fee basis which reflects the true value of the advice given.

The Virgin Atlantic general counsel’s office has worked hard with our external advisers to ensure that panel rates are not used to re-enforce a power by the hour mentality. Fixed fees have their place but should avoid excessive contingency or unrealistic assumptions. Capped fees also have a part and are a useful tool, but not if they are regarded as a target.

Throughout the pandemic, we have been working with leading legal service providers to promote a better working model. This was taken from our experience of dealing with bankers during our restructuring. We now encourage members of our in-house and external teams to discuss and agree in advance the value of the business. That should then form the basis for the calculation of an appropriate success fee. We have been exploring initiatives to promote this fee methodology and have found that firms are well placed to self-manage their own costs to ensure they deliver a successful outcome using the most efficient expertise. Where things abort or do not result in a successful outcome, they share the pain. In our experience this methodology best promotes an extended team mentality where the in-house team and externals work together, delivering successful work in support of the business’s objectives.