Jun
26
2024
HR Masterclass 2024
£425 + VAT per delegate | 09:30am Start
The agenda
The aim of the conference is to provide a forum for discussion with fellow senior in-house lawyers to help you build growth and efficiency. We will be looking at you, your team and your business and how success can be driven at each level. Ask our panels and fellow attendees for their insight in our interactive panels and break-out sessions.
To finish the day join us for a drinks reception kindly sponsored by BCL Legal.
- 09:30 - 10:00 Arrival, registration, and coffee
- 10:00 - 10:15 Introductions and welcome
- 10:15 - 11:15 Growing and retaining talent – from pre-qualification upwards
- 11:15 - 11:30 Morning tea break
- 11:30 - 12:30 The impact of M&A activity on in-house teams – the good, the bad and the ugly
- 12:30 - 13:30 Hot Buffet Lunch and networking
- 13:30 - 14:30 Breakout sessions
- 14:30 - 15:15 Round table sessions – The Sounding Board
- 15:15 - 15:45 Afternoon tea break and networking
- 15:45 - 16:45 AI for in-house teams – opportunity or risk (or both)?
- 16:45 - 17:00 Closing session
- 17:00 - 18:30 Drinks and canapés reception
Growing and retaining talent – from pre-qualification upwards
Looking at talent from pre-qualification to senior level, a panel discussion addressing changes to qualification routes, how these can benefit in-house legal teams and discussion around how to recruit, grow teams at different levels of qualification and retain the best senior lawyers in a tough recruitment market.
Chair
Rowan heads up the Dispute Resolution team at Boyes Turner advising on a wide range of commercial disputes, particularly those in the technology and construction sectors. She regularly supports clients by giving strategic advice to minimise the risk of disputes escalating. Rowan leads the firm’s initiatives for in-house lawyers.
Our panel
Holly Moore is a lawyer in the Brand Protection team at ITV. She was the first in-house solicitor apprentice in the UK, undertaking a 6 year scheme at ITV (during which she obtained a 1st Class degree from City University of London) and completing her SQE before qualifying in 2022. She is a keen advocate for social mobility and is the author of an online blog, thatlawblog to raise awareness of legal apprenticeships and her journey to qualification.
Lucie Allen is the Managing Director of Barbri Global, a provider of preparation courses for the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (“SQE”) route to qualification. Lucie will be sharing her experience of the changes the SQE can bring to address issues around diversity and social mobility, as well as the opportunities that the SQE can provide for shaping and growing in-house legal teams.
Mark Levine is Managing Director of BCL Legal. Mark heads up BCL Legal’s in-house department. Clients of BCL Legal include Astra Zeneca, BAE Systems, Deloitte, DHL Logistics, GKN Aerospace, JD Sports, Mercedes-Benz, MoneySavingsExpert.com. Since 2003 BCL has placed over 2,500 legal experts into companies across England from Legal Counsel through to General Counsel.
Dilsha Caldera is a lawyer and Deputy General Counsel at the Civil Aviation Authority, the UK’s independent aviation regulator. She qualified as a commercial litigator in the City before moving to her role as an aviation lawyer. Dilsha leads a team that has been nominated for and won a number of prestigious legal awards for best in-house team of the year, for projects ranging from the repatriation of over 100,000 passengers following the insolvency of a major travel company to the UK’s first space launch. Dilsha manages a growing team that is increasingly diverse. She is herself an example of diversity and social mobility. Dilsha has practical experience of the opportunities and challenges in growing teams.
The impact of M&A activity on in-house teams – the good, the bad and the ugly
When you work for an acquisitive business, how does the legal team deal with the additional work this generates in the run-up to completion and the subsequent growth of their roles, functions, and responsibilities post-acquisition (often without extra resource)? Our panel will discuss some of the challenges that acquisitions can present for in-house teams. They’ll be sharing war stories and tips for how to make acquisitions run as smoothly as possible, what happens after completion, and how the in-house legal team can support the business in its growth strategy.
Chair
Chris is a partner in the Corporate team at Boyes Turner and advises businesses on all aspects of company law with a particular focus on M&A. He regularly supports in-house legal teams with acquisitions.
Our panel
Mark Blunden is Vice President and General Counsel EMEA at Culligan an international water transformation business with a diverse brand portfolio. Mark was a solicitor in private practice for more than 20 years before moving into the GC role. Culligan in the first half of 2023 have completed 40 acquisitions and Mark is well-placed to share his experiences.
Barbara Keane is General Counsel and Company Secretary at Origin Enterprises plc, an international agronomy service group with revenue of €2.3bn and which is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, Euronext Dublin. During her time at Origin, Barbara has been involved in numerous acquisitions as part of the business’ growth strategy and so understands well the challenges and opportunities these can bring for in-house teams.
Laura Law is Group Head of Legal at Wireless Logic, a rapidly growing, market leading IoT connectivity platform provider. With a number of new subsidiaries having joined the group in the UK and worldwide in recent years, Laura can draw on her first-hand experience of the impact of acquisitions on the in-house legal team.
A choice of two breakout sessions (on a first come, first served basis)
How to sleep well
Geraldine Joaquim, Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist, and Wellness coach
Sleeping well is a key ingredient to personal performance but one that is often ignored. Geraldine Joaquim will explore some of the myths around sleep, why we need sleep and what happens when we don’t get enough. Most importantly, she’ll provide practical guidance on how to sleep well.
Key ingredients of high performing teams
Dr Jonathan Smith, Performance Psychologist and Executive Coach, Adaptivemind
Using his experience of working with professional, international, Olympic and Paralympic sports teams and a range of businesses, Jonathan will be giving practical advice while exploring the key ingredients of what makes high performance teams work well together.
Round table sessions – The Sounding Board
Being a GC can be a lonely role, whatever the size of your organisation.
Want to know how others manage incoming requests to the legal team, or whether fellow GCs are seeing particular trends in contract negotiations? The round table will provide an informal and confidential opportunity to talk to other attendees in smaller groups under the Chatham House Rule about the day-to-day issues and how others are tackling them. Questions can be submitted in advance or on the day.
AI for in-house teams – opportunity or risk (or both)?
From using AI to automate routine legal tasks to advising the business on the potential risks of using ChatGPT, AI may be seen as a risk or an opportunity for both the legal team and for the business. Sharing their experiences of AI in the in-house legal world, our panel will discuss some of the key opportunities and benefits of AI for legal teams, as well as what to watch out for.
Chair
Sarah heads up the Commercial & Technology team at Boyes Turner advising on a broad range of commercial matters with particular expertise in technology, digital media and data protection. She provides an outsourced legal service for a number of her clients, acting either as their sole legal counsel or as an extension to their in-house legal team, providing pragmatic and commercial legal advice.
Our panel
Joanna Goodman is a freelance journalist, writer and author writing and speaking about technology, business and media and specialising in emerging tech and Legal IT. She is the IT columnist for the Law Society Gazette and her recent articles have covered the latest developments around ChatGPT and generative AI and the practical applications in legal services as well as some of the challenges generative AI can bring.
Harry Borovick is General Counsel of Luminance which provides advanced AI for the processing and negotiating of legal documents. As well as working for a company at the forefront of the development of AI for streamlining legal operations, Harry is a lecturer at Queen Mary University on legal technology and applied AI to legal processes, whilst serving on panels and committees at the Law Society and The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Andrew Cooke is General Counsel at Travelperk, the leading SaaS business travel management platform and a global tech company. He is passionate about learning and development and speaks regularly to a diverse range of audiences regarding technology, new media, the creation of value by in-house counsel, and the deployment of process to maximise commercial returns. Travelperk’s legal team have launched a GPT-4 powered legal and privacy bot and were winners of the In-house Technology, Media and Sport team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2023.