Featured Panel Member: Cicely
It’s a story we hear quite often here at InCounsel – elite, city-lawyers who’ve given up the hustle and bustle of our nation’s capitals to practice and live a more balanced life in coastal or rural towns.
It’s a transition that can bring enormous rewards, yet has its own challenges, which became very real during our sit down with competition and regulatory specialist, Cicely in late 2019.
Here’s how it when down.
Outsourced General Counsel: Paul Napier
“You mean like a ‘virtual CFO’? But for General Counsel?” Asked my accountant.
“Yep, but not strictly virtual – an outsourced general counsel can work a mix of on-site or remotely, depending client needs,” I explained.
“Well I have bunch of clients who’d be up for that!” She exclaimed.
This conversation took place shortly after we’d met Paul Napier. As the former GC of an ASX listed company and Minter Ellison lawyer before that, Paul had seen an opportunity to provide outsourced general counsel services to high-growth and established businesses that didn’t yet have (or necessarily want) a permanent GC or in-house lawyer.
Coming up to two years on, we caught up with Paul to see how he’s tracking and how his outsourced GC offering is being received by clients.
The Podcasting GC: Wendy Rubas, General Counsel at VillageMD
Wendy Rubas runs compliance training a bit differently. As the incoming general counsel at VillageMD in 2017, she believed that when incidents occur, it's mostly because people don’t have the right information when they need it. She knew training was part of the answer, but that it had to be concise, practical and easy to tune into. And so, the VillageMD Working Smarter podcast was born.
We spoke to Wendy to get the backstory – from producing podcast episodes using microphones bought from Amazon to learning that interviewing is a skill that she didn’t initially possess, Wendy reveals the tools that were used, and key learnings she took away, to maximise success in a changing health care environment.
How to increase business confidence with minimal legal overhead
Managing legal spend is a pain point for many businesses, particularly as they mature. As your operations expand, so do your legal bills. There are more risks to manage and more contracts to sign.
If you’re spending a lot on legal fees, you might realise that you’ll soon reach a point where it’s cheaper to employ a salaried in-house lawyer. Someone senior enough with the range of experience to deal with most of your day to day legals, and can pre-empt and manage any legal emergency
But hiring your first lawyer is a big step – it’s a significant cost, a lot of commitment and perhaps you’re just not ready?
Featured Panel Member: Evan
Word of mouth recommendations work like magic. Last year one of our clients suggested we get in touch with Evan – a former top tier senior associate, now based in Delhi, India. He’d been freelancing remotely for Australian firms, carving out a unique offering at a cost-effective rate.
Since then we’ve introduced Evan to a growing number of clients to work on commercial, general corporate and M&A matters, with great results.
Until recently, our interactions were limited to phone calls and email, yet his professionalism, responsiveness and integrity were clearly evident.
We caught up for coffee during his brief visit back to Sydney, and we’re delighted to report he makes for excellent company too!
Here’s his story.
Outsourced General Counsel: Case Study with Provider Assist
Backstory: Australia's First In-house Clerkship Program
It’s rare to hear a good news story when it comes to the preparedness of law students entering practice, and this one surely takes the cake for 2019.
The Learned Crew and ACC Australia have successfully piloted Australia’s first ever structured in-house clerkship 🚀
And they’re back for more in 2020 with two programs in Sydney and Melbourne, with in-house team applications for the Feb-Jun 2020 (Sydney) due by 22 November.
We spoke with Jessie Porteus (The Learned Crew) and Ingrid Segota (ACC) for the low-down on this year’s pilot.
Featured Panel Member: Anne B
It’s refreshing (and all too rare) to see young lawyers branch out on their own at the pre-senior associate level.
They’re not only brave, but have the confidence to back themselves knowing that their smarts and training have given them more than enough know-how to deliver excellent value to clients, unbound by the modus operandi of the traditional law firm model.
Anne is a unicorn among her peers. Smart, capable and building a solid practice that balances work and life in a way that most lawyers have never experienced.
Here’s her story.
Featured Panel Member: Peter C
I’ve been lucky enough to witness a former supervising partner get the best of a small army of partners, SA’s and juniors on the other side of the negotiating table, and think: “gee… the other side are paying for all that!”.
Meeting Peter reminded me of that encounter and how time in the market, a global perspective and a range of experience in reputable firms and legal departments can create a powerful combination of expertise and commerciality that clients long for and trust.
Having trained at King & Wood Mallesons in Sydney and London, Peter then spent 15+ years in senior, general counsel roles at ISL Marketing in Switzerland and at Lion in Melbourne and Sydney, before branching out solo to leverage his GC heritage to deliver strategic commercial solutions for his clients.
We sat down with Peter to learn more about his journey.