Save our soles!

By Deepak Malhotra, vice president and general counsel, corporate legal and Western Europe, Inbev

THE CHALLENGES for in-house counsel are greater than they have ever been. The relentless pace of changing legislation and regulation requires us to be more vigilant and fleet-of-foot than ever. Added to that, we are seeing a diversification – albeit a welcome one – in the role, increasingly called upon both to advise on key management decisions and manage teams of external advisers.
For anyone who is in the position of sole in-house counsel or part of a very small team, the pressures are demanding in a way different to that of a larger in-house team. Sole in-house counsel typically have more limited resources available to them, are expected to know something about almost everything and, by definition, have no internal network of legally-qualified colleagues.
It was with this in mind that the C&I London Region, in partnership with law firm Stephenson Harwood, launched a new initiative to support the community of sole in-house lawyers and those who are part of very small teams. Maninder Gill, legal and HR director of Harvey Nichols and Jonathan Beak, vice president, emr Europe, are leading the initiative on behalf of the C&I Group. The project is also part of a larger two-year plan with four pillars: networking and social opportunities; career management and a mentoring programme; the sole in-house lawyer initiative; and a focus on law firm billing structures.
There are some 1,500 sole in-house counsel in the UK, spread across a range of organisations, whether they be listed, private or public sector. There are some special requirements of people in these roles. For one, they must have a knack for spotting potential trouble, with a very well developed set of antennae. For another, they need to be generalists par excellence — such is the range of issues they are expected to handle, often simultaneously. It is, however, a mistake to assume that ‘sole’ always means ‘small’. In fact a number of very large companies have grown successfully with just one or two in-house lawyers supporting them throughout.
Rather than serve up a ready-made solution, we decided that our first event, held in July, should be an open discussion. ‘What would you want from a sole/small-team lawyer network?’ we asked. These were the responses:

Provide a networking and social forum;
Understand and develop the main priority areas for a future programme, which would add tangible value;
Ensure the initiative extends to lawyers operating across all sectors. That way we will feel more inclined to be open and honest about our issues;
Keep it informal and relaxed. As we get to know each other, we want to be able to ask the ‘dumb questions’ without feeling stupid or embarrassed;
And finally ... life as a sole/small-team lawyer has many positives to recommend it, but it can sometimes be a lonely existence. So above all, make it fun!

Moving forwards, we are now putting together a know-how series that focuses on areas most of us have to deal with, but where we do not need to be a subject-matter expert — for example, handling the early stages of dispute resolution and competition law. However, the programme will also be taking a look at some management issues. For example, our October event featured Richard Tapp, director of legal services at Carillion plc and Sunil Gadhia, CEO of Stephenson Harwood, on the subject of effective management of external legal resource. It generated a free-flow of ideas and debate that more than matched the champagne and canapés… ?

Deepak Malhotra is the vice president and general counsel for corporate legal and Western Europe at Inbev and the C&I London region chair. For more information on the C&I London region sole/small-team in-house lawyer network and its future programme, contact christine@cigroup.org.uk (www.cigroup.org.uk).