The Team Elite United Kingdom 2018
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Lead sponsor Associate sponsors THE TEAM ELITE UNITED KINGDOM 2018 From the publishers of 1 2 GC POWERLIST 2018|UK It’s a team game at the legal elite but the mix of players is changing Alex Novarese, editor-in-chief, Legal Business and The In-House Lawyer his year we return to the team format of than changing how teams operate. Nevertheless, the GC Powerlist, our flagship annual report the clearest shift since our last team report chronicling the elite of the UK’s buy-side is a new willingness to bring in a handful of legal community. This team perspective senior operational staff from business services inevitablyT takes us closer to state-of-the-legal- backgrounds in areas like tech or procurement, or at industry ruminations than the editions focused on least shift lawyers into senior operational roles. individual excellence. In-house teams have been far too conservative in Glancing at this year’s report, the second investing in business skills. That tendency – though team-focused edition after the first in 2015, many obscured by spurious claims of clients driving long-term shifts in the profession have marched on change – has materially held back the advancement regardless through the era of New Law and tech- of the legal industry. fuelled disruption. Teams at leading companies As such, the very recent rise of the legal chief are still accumulating more resources, skills and operating officer promises a sea-change in the infrastructure to expand their empires. General industry and the prospect of fundamental shifts in counsel (GCs) at leading bluechips operating buying behaviour of the clients routinely spending heavily in the UK are often fielding teams in the £25m-plus annually. Early indications where such hundreds and have expanded substantially over professionals have been deployed is that they the last three years, despite more pressure for hunger to shake things up and secure immediate efficiency. ‘More for less’ is a convenient fiction for results. Crucially, ushering in such professionals has GCs, but a ‘lot more work for a moderate increase in done much to calm the entrenched turf war in major budget’ has less of a ring. plcs that pitted procurement and finance against It is odd that it is often claimed that demand legal, and did much to frustrate constructive change. for legal services is flat in Western economies, a But we are not here to nitpick. This report is conclusion reached by looking at the revenues primarily a celebration of the ascent of in-house of large law firms in the US and UK. In a highly- counsel. Over the time that I have covered the regulated and complex global economy, demand legal industry, the in-house community has gone is obviously robust – it is just that it is being through a revolution and is now increasingly seen as increasingly met by providers other than law firms. a career of choice for many of the UK’s most talented It is now common for the 50 teams highlighted commercial lawyers. There is no hyperbole to say in our report to spend more than half their very such teams – along with the best US counterparts substantial budgets internally, with Shell and – lead the industry globally. The 50 teams here – Barclays particularly focused on driving efficiency. highlighted after weeks of research by my colleagues In truth, as yet the impact of technology is James Wood, Tom Baker and Hamish McNicol – are primarily felt in conference circuit rhetoric rather exemplary. And the revolution is still in full flow. Chairman Content development Group director Address e-mails to: GC Powerlist John Pritchard (Solicitor) manager David Goulthorpe firstname.surname@ Legalease Ltd Eleanor King Tel: 020 7396 5628 legalease.co.uk 188 Fleet Street Editor-in-chief Head of sales Subscription enquiries London EC4A 2AG Alex Novarese United Kingdom Tel: 020 7396 9321 Senior sub-editor Lee Cashman Tel: 020 7396 9313 Hannah Eccles Tel: 020 7396 5707 E-mail: subscriptions@ Tel: +44 (0) 20 7396 9292 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7396 9301 Managing editor Senior business legalease.co.uk Mark McAteer Content development development manager Copyright applies: no Tel: 020 7396 5664 Harry Milburn Ben Lawless photocopying (Copyright Research editor Ryan Smith Tel: 020 7396 5623 Licensing Agency Ltd Printed and bound by James Wood Business development and Publishers Licensing DG3 Tel: 020 7396 5659 Creative director manager Society Ltd licences do Stephen Jones Baris Agun not apply). www.dg3.com Senior reporter Tel: 020 7396 9310 Tel: 020 7396 5683 For licensed Hamish McNicol photocopying within a www.legalbusiness.co.uk Tel: 020 7396 9319 Subscriptions and Digital managing database marketing firm or company, please www.legal500.com/ Reporter editor manager call +44 (0) 20 7396 5648 gcpowerlist Tom Baker Tom Myatt Phil Wass www.gcmagazine.com Tel: 020 7396 9309 Tel: 020 7396 9308 Tel: 020 7396 5684 © Legalease Ltd 2018 www.inhouselawyer.co.uk 1 cornerstone.com RECOGNISED FOR EXCELLENCE Congratulations to the 2018 GC Powerlist winners and nominees. We are proud to be a sponsor of this annual event, and to acknowledge the year’s outstanding contributors to the legal profession. CORNERSTONE RESEARCH Economic and Financial Consulting and Expert Testimony 2 CR_GC Powerlist -Final.indd 1 3/26/2018 11:23:35 AM GC POWERLIST 2018|UK Contents 10 Forming, storming, 17 Rising stars norming and performing GCs of tomorrow The UK’s leading in-house teams The team elite 25 Energy Perspectives: Alison Kay 27 Perspectives: Donny Ching 29 33 Financial services Perspectives: Kate Cheetham 37 43 Insurance 49 Pharmaceuticals and healthcare 53 Real estate, infrastructure and transport Perspectives: Philip Bramwell 57 65 Retail and consumer products 77 TMT 90 Index CONTENTS 3 SPONSOR MESSAGE Diversity on the agenda James Miller, RPC’s managing partner, highlights the common theme of diversity in this year’s GC Powerlist he best teams are founded on diversity. And As clients of City law firms like RPC, those by diversity I mean diversity of thought, represented in the Powerlist are playing an diversity of experience and diversity of increasingly leading role in ensuring diversity Tleadership, as much as anything else. doesn’t just rise up the agenda, but stays there. If ever there was a time to reflect on the importance What particularly struck me about the list of top- of diversity – in all its forms – in the era of #MeToo, performing legal teams showcased in this year’s #TimesUp and the gender pay gap, that time is now. Powerlist was also the diversity of organisations Irrespective of whether studies show that greater represented, from start-ups to established diversity delivers greater performance – they do – players; technology companies to retailers; and ensuring we run balanced teams and organisations UK-headquartered operations to sprawling that offer equal access and equal opportunity is global giants. simply the right thing to do as human beings. The business issues that these companies face will And I’m saying this as a white, male, middle-aged be many and varied. It stands to reason, then, that leader of a City law firm in the full knowledge that, the greater diversity in the teams advising them, the as a sector, we have a very long way to go. Like other more commercially-valuable the advice they will be sectors, we’re rightly being held accountable by giving. It’s about being able to consider commercial our people, by the government and by the media. challenges from a range of viewpoints – the broader Critically, we’re rightly being held accountable by our the range, the more complete the advice and the clients, too. better the end result. 4 GC POWERLIST 2018 UK RPC Contact information: Tower Bridge House St Katharine’s Way London E1W 1AA www.rpc.co.uk And, increasingly, in-house lawyers are having a So, having a strong sense of leadership and the major influence on the ultimate end result: the right team around you is absolutely key. And, in my bottom line. Over the six years we have been experience, balancing a shared sense of purpose involved in the GC Powerlist, my perception is that with a good degree of autonomy helps to drive the role of the in-house legal team has become the high-performance culture we all strive for. But, progressively more critical to the successful running running through it all, is communication – if you of businesses. The in-house lawyer has moved on don’t have open and fertile lines of communication from being the moral compass to becoming an then, at best, you’ll have pockets of high-performing indispensable business adviser to the board. A individuals. Great communication is fundamental growing number are achieving that coveted seat at to great leadership – and both are fundamental to the table. great teams. That’s never more apparent than in a crisis situation This publication is a list of truly great in-house legal – such as a major cyber incident – when, more often teams. Congratulations to all of those who have than not, the GC and their legal team are at the heart been featured. of managing the response. Caught in the maelstrom, that’s no doubt a challenging place to be. But it’s a significant opportunity to demonstrate commercial James Miller value, too, not least when your share price can rise or Tel: 020 3060 6517 fall on the basis of the decisions you make. [email protected] GC POWERLIST 2018 UK 5 CORNERSTONE RESEARCH Contact information: Cornerstone Research 4 More London Riverside 5th Floor London SE1 2AU www.cornerstone.com Peter Davis, senior vice president 020 3655 0910 [email protected] A solid foundation for effective and compelling expert testimony Cornerstone Research supports the world’s leading and useful insights from traditional sources, law firms and corporations in their most complex including financial and transactional records, matters.