GC’s influence growing says Law Society
Two thirds of corporate general counsel now have a seat on the board. A study by the Law Society in England and Wales discovered the growing influence of GC’s and their in-house teams.
The study also shows that 50 per cent of GC’s set the legal budget and two thirds decide how it’s spent. Around 58 per cent of an average budget is spent on external law advice with almost have of specialist advice and a quarter of high-level strategic work outsourced.
“Demands on in-house legal functions are increasing due to the need to address higher volumes of work with reduced resources and increasingly complex legal and business regulation,” commented Catherine Dixon, Law Society CEO. “In this climate, innovative approaches are being adopted by GC and in-house teams to measure and report the value they bring to their organisation in terms of commercial advantage and mitigation of risks.”
Law firm to bring in football legends for anti-homophobia day
Herbert Smith Freehills is marking International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia today (17
th May) by hosting a number of Australian football legends.
Staff in Melbourne will attend a special cocktail function with special guests from the Essendon Bombers and the North Melbourne Kangaroos AFL clubs.
Meanwhile in Brisbane, staff will be joined by the founder of the gay and inclusive Sydney Convicts Rugby Club, Andrew Purchas. Members of Brisbane’s gay and inclusive rugby team, the Brisbane Hustlers, will also attend the event which will be streamed live to staff at a cocktail function in Herbert Smith Freehills’ Sydney office.
Dentons formalizes international expansion
Dentons has formalized its combinations with Colombia’s Cardenas & Cardenas, and Lopez Velarde of Mexico. Dentons now has more than 7,500 lawyers in 55 countries including its first physical presence in Latin America.
As with Dentons merger with Rodyk in Singapore, the two new additions will retain their legacy names which will be prefixed with ‘Dentons’, in recognition of the local strength of the heritage brands.
Harneys only offshore firm in Asia with female litigation partner
Offshore firm Harneys has hired Joanne Verbiesen as a litigation partner in Hong Kong. The firm says that the appointment makes it the only offshore firm in Asia with a female litigation partner. Verbiesen joins from Walkers in the Cayman Islands but practiced at the New Zealand bar previously.
