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Established in 1992, The In-House Lawyer is the magazine of choice of the in-house counsel of the UK and EMEA. Relied upon and trusted by heads of legal departments, company secretaries and managing directors of FTSE 250 companies for providing authoritative and independent editorial content, The In-House Lawyer boasts the largest and most comprehensive published resources of professional knowledge and expertise.

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Profiles

  • Gurdeep Boparai, Coventry Building Society

    From the age of 10 I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer. The first lawyer I ever met was a close family friend. She had just qualified and spoke so passionately about the work she was doing, Being in and out of court sounded so exciting, the work was varied and fast paced …

  • Babett Carrier, Cinven

    ‘In my view, a private equity firm is one of the most interesting places to work as an in-house lawyer.’ Cinven GC Babett Carrier on food, family, hobbies and private equity.

  • Christian Keim, Adobe

    The multinational software company’s international legal head on his professional journey and experience working in-house at a tech company.

  • Lida Khanverdi, EG Group

    Fresh off a train from Blackburn, suitcase in tow, Lida Khanverdi arrives at the interview shortly after closing a new deal for EG Group. Having moved in-house just three years ago, the former Shoosmiths real estate associate is quickly making a name for herself, winning Rising Star In-House Counsel of the Year at the 2023 …

  • Alessandro Galtieri, Colt Technology Services

    It is fair to say that Colt Technology Services does not look out of place in its trendy environs of Shoreditch, East London. Decorated with the UK’s largest wall mural, which the company commissioned a collection of graffiti and street artists to create, the building comes complete with its own beehive, shortly to produce its …

  • Aleksandra Schellenberg, UBS

    Aleksandra Schellenberg, UBS’ global head of legal sustainable finance, knew she wanted to be a lawyer from the age of 14, revealing that she made her decision after watching the first episode of American legal comedy drama Ally McBeal, while growing up in Poland in the late 1990s.

  • Sebastian Goldsmith, Medigold Health

    ‘I came into law by accident,’ admits Sebastian Goldsmith, general counsel (GC) of occupational health service provider Medigold Health. ‘I guess it was a second choice. I did Spanish and Portuguese at university, and I was going to work for an investment bank, as I did an internship with HSBC during my year abroad in …

  • A wholly subjective (but nonetheless definitive) guide to law firms from a $300m client on how to make a successful pitch*

    In 2020, Teva Pharmaceuticals conducted a law firm selection process unprecedented in scale and sophistication within the profession (see ‘On notice: Teva’s entire $330m legal spend could go to one law firm’, The Legal 500, Summer 2019).

  • Terra Potter, Hexcel Corporation

    Terra Potter (whose middle name is Cotta – IHL has seen the proof) proudly proclaims on LinkedIn that she originally hails from a cornfield outside Chicago and, while many lawyers claim to have had an unconventional path into a legal career, hers has been more so than most. Growing up in Rochelle, Illinois, she started …

  • Jelena Madir, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

    Jelena Madir’s career to date has been defined by two crises. The 2008 financial crash saw her out of a job and forced to look beyond private practice for gainful employment. Fast forward just over a decade, and the Covid-19 pandemic has spawned the work which she credits as the highlight of her career, and …

  • Sharon Blackman, Citi

    While she is loath to admit it, Sharon Blackman, managing director and general counsel in Citi’s global legal affairs and compliance division, ‘hated’ her law degree. Clearly this has not held her back though, as her GC of the Year gong at the Legal Business Awards in September testifies.

  • Claire Holdsworth, Marathon Asset Management

    ‘Frankly, what’s a boardroom compared to a regiment of soldiers?!’ Claire Holdsworth is philosophical about her journey from army officer to motorbike-riding GC of Marathon Asset Management.

  • Nassib Abou-Khalil

    I grew up in Lebanon when there was a civil war. I say this with a bit of embarrassment but, because of the civil war, I never completed a school year. I had to be homeschooled for a lot of the time and the school year was always interrupted. I didn’t really have, like many …

  • Elisabeth Sullivan, Waterstones

    While some discover an aptitude for law while at university, others have it in their veins. According to Elisabeth Sullivan, recently installed as general counsel of book retailer Waterstones, she very much falls into the latter category.

  • Wayne Spillett, Vodafone

    Unlike some flightier in-house counsel, Vodafone’s head of legal for commercial operations, IP and corporate secretariat, Wayne Spillett, has stayed loyal to the company for close to 13 years. After a lengthy conversation, it is easy to see why.

  • easyJet

    ‘The pandemic hit the airline sector hard and fast. We went from really being in growth mode, preparing forward-looking projects and a successful year in 2020, to very quickly having to ground our fleet almost overnight. We then had to deal with the implications of that for the company, which were severe,’ says Rebecca Mills, …

  • Allan Dunlavy – Schillings

    What types of work are you seeing at the moment in reputation management? Have there been any changes post-pandemic? A lot of the work we’re doing at the moment, particularly with corporates and their senior leadership team, is about building resilience into their online profiles – so both the corporate profile and the individuals’ profiles. …

  • Sarah Holford – Scania UK

    Shortly after completing the Legal Practice Course, Sarah Holford was looking for somewhere to kick-start her career. An opportunity presented itself at Games Workshop, the British manufacturer of miniature war games, with space-themed Warhammer 40,000 among its best-known products.

  • Chris Thomas – Brewin Dolphin

    ‘I do employment law because I love personalities and people, whether they are friend or foe. You can learn from that.’ So speaks Chris Thomas, senior legal director at Brewin Dolphin, who was recognised as an in-house Rising Star at the Legal Business Awards 2021.

  • Stephanie Dominy – Snyk

    ‘There is a creative and artistic side to me but also a very pragmatic and logical one. While I left that creative side behind, sometimes it still wants to get out.’ From speaking to Stephanie Dominy, general counsel of the hyper-complicated, open-source software security start-up Snyk, both her logical and creative credentials are in no …

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