About

Team size: 75
Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

After a merger-induced interlude, SSE’s GC Liz Tanner has stepped back into the legal spotlight. As an ambitious merger with rival npower looked on the cards in 2017, Tanner delegated her GC duties to Stuart Waddell, previously head of legal for wholesale and corporate, on a 12-month interim basis, while she managed the tie-up. However, after the merger fell through, Tanner reclaimed her post on 1 January 2019. She says: ‘We got Competition and Markets Authority approval, but because of political positions, we didn’t proceed with the transaction. The legal team were greatly involved with that whole process.’

With her attention now fully focused on SSE, Tanner has overseen another year of interesting legal work. In December 2018, her team was involved as SSE sold a 50% stake of its telecoms business to Infracapital, for a total consideration worth £380m. It was a vital transaction for the business, as the cash proceeds were used to reduce SSE’s debt. In other internal matters, Tanner is lining up a review of SSE’s legal advice panel in 2019. Current advisers include Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang and Addleshaw Goddard, but Tanner is determined to find more flexibility: ‘We would love to find more innovative fee arrangements than hourly rates!’

Tanner also embodies a wider in-house trend of GCs taking on more risk responsibilities. She says that it has become a vital tool in a GC’s arsenal: ‘In commercial contracts, most conversations come down to what risks there are in the agreement. Risk enforcement and management is, therefore, a commercial part of the role. We have to work very closely with our auditors and compliance teams to make sure we understand where the boundaries are.’

As she settles back into her old leadership role, she insists that an open environment is key to getting the best out of a team. ‘I really believe in being open and transparent with the team. It’s really important that we give the team autonomy as they manage their own work. You have to balance that with an environment whereby people can approach you for guidance when needed.’