Lessons I Learned in Law

How does a Legal career in the Seychelles or Mauritius sound? Awesome....

On this week's show, I am joined by Phil Norah - General Counsel for the UK business of the Holcim Group, which is a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions and products. 

On top of delivering an ambitious M&A agenda, one of the key challenges for the Holcim Group is the decarbonisation of the cement industry, which is an existential threat. The Legal function is playing a pivotal role in that.

Phil manages a multi-disciplinary team across legal, compliance, insurance and real estate and is a member of the Holcim European legal leadership team. 

Phil's career started out in the City with Freshfields but took him to the idyllic paradise of Mauritius, where he was Regional Head of Legal for Barclays. Hear Phil's approach and discussing global opportunities, the effort required to seize them, and the professional challenges that arise.

It was great to hear these insights and this is a must listen to anyone who might hesitate on seizing the day and saying yes to opportunities.

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On this week's show, our host, Scott Brown, sits down with Alex O'Connell, General Counsel and Company Secretary at Fever-Tree. the global mixers and soft drinks business. What an apt guest / company for the wonderful British summertime!

They discuss the pivotal years in Alex's career, which started as a corporate M&A lawyer at Freshfields in London and Singapore, before taking his first in-house role at AB InBev, the leading global brewer. He joined Fever-Tree in 2021 and discusses how he has applied some of the best practice learned at AB InBev into a smaller organisation. 

Alex shares valuable insights on management styles, the importance of caring for team members and being open to new ideas. 

We also hear of Alex's incredible time as an Olympian Fencer where he competed for Team GB at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing - what an experience!

His favourite drink is a gin & Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic water, served with pink grapefruit - the Drink of Champions / Olympians!


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On this weeks show, I am joined by Robin Carvell-Spedding, General Counsel at Protium, a company at the forefront of the energy transition, focusing on producing green hydrogen. Robin's career has spanned over a decade in various in-house roles within the oil and gas sector, working on international projects across South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
 
From carrying a massive flat-screen TV down five flights of stairs with his landlord, Michael Laudrup, in Copenhagen, to navigating complex legal landscapes in numerous countries, Robin's international experiences are both unique and insightful.
 
In the episode, Robin stresses the importance of thoroughly understanding any role or company before committing, sharing personal stories about the consequences of not doing enough upfront research.
 
Emphasising the value of seizing opportunities, Robin discusses how taking calculated risks has significantly benefited his career, especially in his international moves.
 
Hope you enjoy!!

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In this episode of 'Lessons I Learned in Law', host Scott Brown speaks with Francisca Comiche, General Counsel at Rabobank.

In her current role at Rabobank (the 2nd largest Bank in the Netherlands), Francisca is responsible for a global legal function of over 400 people.

This is a far cry from her beginnings with the group. Francisca shares her journey of joining DLL (a Subsidiary of Rabobank) over 26 years ago as only the 2nd lawyer in the team. 

During her 26 years, she has witnessed and driven significant change across the function. Her role has been constantly varied and where she has started to get itchy feet, she has sought out discomfort to keep herself challenged...this has been the key success to the lasting career at Rabobank.

We also discuss the importance of working internationally and hear how she has built the ability to connect the dots across jurisdictions. 

This is a really interesting conversation with a top European General Counsel...don't miss out!

In this episode of Lessons I Learned In Law, I am joined by Felicitas Stern, General Counsel EMEA at Omni Bridgeway, a leading litigation funder. 

Felicitas made the switch to Omni Bridgeway when she was on the brink of Partnership in a top law firm in Amsterdam, where she practiced Real Estate and Construction.

She wanted more variety in her role and worked with a coach before deciding a move in-house was the next step.

Felicitas shares her motivations for moving in-house, the differences between working in a law firm and in-house, and the various lessons she learned throughout her career. 

We delve into how she made the career switch and some of the challenges she has faced in making that transition. We also cover some of the cultural differences across countries in legal practices, and Felicitas' personal journey from her native Germany to the Netherlands - so not one to be missed!

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In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott meets with Maria Barros, Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer at Booking.com.

Maria is a true Citizen of the World. Born in London, from a Brazilian family, Maria loves travelling (passion and profession have collided at Booking.com) and has lived in the UK, US, Brazil, Mexico, Belgium and is now based in the Netherlands, where, in addition to her role as Chief Legal & Public Affairs Officer, she is a member of the Management Board of Booking.com and Board member of ACC Europe, the largest global association of in-house counsel. Before that, Maria was General Counsel Europe and Middle East of AB-InBev, the global brewer.

Maria shares her insights on how she has built a best in class integrated legal and public affairs function at Booking.com with a strong focus on developing talent.

We also discuss the importance of developing a strong reliable network and hear how the ACC has been a "home away from home" and a fantastic support network for in-house lawyers.

A really interesting story with a unique International legal career at some huge global brands!

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To find out more information on the ACC and how to get involved see the links below:

- How to learn more about the ACC – More information on the ACCE website: Europe | Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)

- How to become an ACC member - individual and group – see this link: Membership | Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)

- How to register for the May conference – see this link: Registration - ACC (acceurope.com)

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Kenny Roberston, Head of Outsourcing, Technology & IP legal team at NatWest Group. In his role, he leads up a team which supports some of the largest outsourcing transactions in the UK and which continually pushes to be innovative and progressive and provide great customer experience for stakeholders. He is also Chair of the Law Society of Scotland’s Wellbeing Steering Group. 

Kenny shares some of the lessons he’s learned in law including:

·      Be Yourself! Giving legal advice is a relationships game, and its hard to build relationships without being authentic. 

·      Play with your head up (to use a sporting analogy). Be aware, be able to identify opportunities, adapt to change and be ready for whatever might be around the corner.  

·      Create and nurture a positive culture within your team.

Kenny admits that early on in his career he tried to live up to his pre-conceived ideas of what a lawyer should be, and how damaging this can be for lawyers’ wellbeing. He explores where these ideas might stem from, how the legal profession is changing and how developments such as AI may even alter the skillset required to be a lawyer in the future. 

Kenny shares details of his pioneering initiative in collaboration with the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Law Association. Kenny also reveals how he’s worked to cultivate a transparent and psychologically safe organisational culture within his team at NatWest. He elaborates on the three pillars that form the bedrock of his team's ethos: High Performance, Progressive Mindset, and Teamship, and how they factor into the bank's ESG agenda and climate goals. 

Presented by Scott Brown of Heriot Brown Legal Recruitment. 

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In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Chris Fowler, Chief Operating Officer for Legal, Governance and Compliance at mining business Rio Tinto. Prior to that Chris spent 24 years at BT Group including as General Counsel for BT’s Technology division which builds and operates BT’s networks, its IT infrastructure and its research and development unit.

After a long career in telecoms, Chris explains his motivation for switching sector and how he’s finding his first few months with Rio Tinto. “Fundamentally I wanted to work in an organisation that's got some pretty big challenges, but also is somewhere that I found personally really exciting” Chris says. Chris also discusses the potential professional benefits that can arise from switching sectors, as well as the things you should watch out for. 

Chris shares some of the lessons he’s learned in law including:

·      If it doesn’t feel comfortable, you’re learning. Be prepared to test yourself!

·      As a lawyer you can have a huge impact on the people around you and their lives. Invest in people and value relationships. 

·      Say ‘yes’ when you don’t necessarily have all the facts. Take the leap!

Chris also shares how he made the most of his ‘break’ in-between roles, something he would advise everyone to do and to make the most of if you get the opportunity. 

Presented by Scott Brown of Heriot Brown Legal Recruitment. 

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Welcome to the latest instalment in our mini-series, Lessons I Learned in Law X Inside the Agency, where we aim to lift the lid on Heriot Brown In-House Legal Recruitment to give you a better idea of what we do. 

We are flipping the script on our usual format and putting our Consultants and team members in the spotlight to share more about the people who make us tick and help us provide fulfilling careers for lawyers. On each episode of Inside the Agency you will get to know more about how recruitment works and we hope we can dispel some of the myths!! 

This week we're chatting to Chloe Rowan. Chloe is our team’s Personal Assistant at Heriot Brown, responsible for assisting with the day to day operations of the business. With 15 years’ worth of administrative experience, 9 of which as a virtual PA, Chloe brings a wealth of expertise to the Heriot Brown team. 

Chloe shares: 

• How working from home has changed over a decade.
• Why user experience is so important.
• How Heriot Brown differs from other recruiters.

Presented by Scott Brown of Heriot Brown Legal Recruitment.

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In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Matt Wilson, General Counsel at TV Production company Fremantle. Fremantle produces over 12,000 hours of original programming every year across drama, entertainment, documentaries and film. Matt started his career with four years at Baker & McKenzie and has also worked at Arsenal Football Club (he is a huge Arsenal fan), as well as Telefónica and Uber.

Matt shares some of the lessons he’s learned in law including:

·      If you’re giving advice that you want to rely on or evidence in the future, make sure you write it down!

·       Never assume and always be curious. This applies when offering advice in a professional capacity but also in understanding people, maintaining relationships and managing teams. 

·      This, too, shall pass! A positive mindset is required when it comes to crisis management and response, and remind yourself that everything works out in the end. 

Matt explains the power of Personality Insights when it comes to understanding people and getting the most from your team.  When recruiting, Matt looks for people who are good at the things that he’s not so good at, to ensure diverse perspectives and a comprehensive skillset across the team.

Matt is well travelled and explains how a legal career can offer fantastic opportunities for travel, if that’s something you wish to do. Drawing on his own intriguing experiences living abroad, Matt showcases the monumental value of diversity and its role in enriching our teams.

Presented by Scott Brown of Heriot Brown Legal Recruitment. 

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