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Event
General Counsel and Heads of Legal Conference - Mission Possible: Leading, Managing and Delivering
Please note, this is an invitation only event. If you are interested in attending, please contact [email protected].
The agenda
The aim of this year’s conference is to provide a forum for senior in-house lawyers to explore how success can be achieved across you, your team, and your business. Through interactive panels and breakout sessions, gain insight from peers and experts on balancing leading a team whilst managing risk and delivering commercial legal support effectively.
- 09:30 - 10:00 Arrival, registration, and coffee
- 10:00 - 10:15 Introductions and welcome
- 10:15 - 11:15 Managing risk in the supply chain
- 11:15 - 11:45 Morning tea break and networking
- 11:45 - 12:45 Staying engaged – Being a Lawyer and a Manager
- 12:45 - 13:45 Lunch and networking
- 13:45 - 14:45 Keynote speaker
- 14:45 - 15:30 The Sounding Board - round table sessions
- 15:30 - 16:00 Afternoon tea break and networking
- 16:00 - 17:00 Expanding your influence
- 17:00 - 17:15 Thank you and goodbye
Managing risk in the supply chain
In our first panel of the day Rowan Turrall will be joined by General Counsel from three very different companies. They will explore how, in the face of political and economic change and an ever-growing burden of compliance, the legal team can help the business ride the changing tides of supply chain risk.
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
Tim is a former professional cricketer turned lawyer who has been General Counsel and Company Secretary at Halfords for nearly a decade. During that time the business’ turnover has increased by over £1bn.
Katy is a member of the Executive Leadership and Senior Leadership Team at Oxford Instruments, a leading provider of high technology products and services. She has oversight of the Legal, Compliance, Trade & Export and Company Secretarial functions for the business.
John heads the UK legal team at Signet Jewellers, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery whose UK brands include High Street names Ernest Jones and H Samuel.
Staying engaged – Being a Lawyer and a Manager
In this session Andy Whiteaker will be discussing how to navigate the demands and expectations of leading a team whilst still being a lawyer. The discussion will include management and motivation, engagement and performance management and how to avoid de-skilling.
Chair
Andy leads Boyes Turner’s Employment team providing expert guidance on contentious and non-contentious employment matters. Serving national and multinational clients, his comprehensive approach delivers strategic employment solutions, particularly benefitting organisations with international operations.
Our panel
Christian is dual qualified in the UK and Germany. He leads a team of approx 100 lawyers covering all legal activities worldwide except for corporate/secretarial and employment law matters. The legal team grew substantially following OpenText's $5.8bn acquisition of MicroFocus in 2023.
Ben is a privacy focused in-house lawyer and the author of “GDPR for Startups and Scaleups: A Practical Guide”. Until recently he was the Director of Privacy at Trustpilot where he managed a dynamic privacy team at the cutting edge of technology and data protection.
Adam recently joined RGE Services having previously been Group General Counsel at CH&Co. He has experience of managing a team of lawyers as well as now leading a far broader team whose remit includes legal, compliance, H&S, HR, ESG and M&A.
The Flea Jar – What traps our thinking, how to untrap our thinking, and how to do brilliant thinking instead
In this talk, Felix explores why we default to a surprisingly defensive mindset that suffocates our thinking, both strategic and innovative, and how not only to escape that but how to do our very best thinking to maximise our opportunities in business every single time.
Keynote speaker
Felix Riley started as a comedy writer before moving into finance, launching and selling a company to an NYSE-listed firm, where he became a Managing Director. His career has spanned continents and industries – from mining deals in Zambia to reviving UK businesses – and he’s also published two thrillers with Penguin. For over a decade, Felix has worked as a Business Strategist, known for helping leaders think more creatively and act more boldly. Described as “the consultant to the consultants,” his clients range from law firms to tech companies, start-ups to charities – all seeking transformative thinking and real-world results.
The Sounding Board - round table sessions
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.
Expanding your influence
Sarah Williamson will be exploring the relationship between the legal team and the business and considering how GCs can get their voice heard in the C-Suite and add strategic value to the business.
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
Todd is responsible for the Commercial Engagement team at Viavi Solutions as well as the legal affairs of Viavi Solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Viavi is a global leader in communications test and measurement and optical technologies with $1billion worldwide turnover.
Rich was formerly the Managing Director of Emapsite where he delivered a growth plan which culminated in a successful sale of the business to IDOX Plc in August 2023. He now acts as a Non-Executive Director and business adviser as well as working on his own projects.
Sharon joined TotallyMoney in 2017 as General Counsel before moving into the CLO role in August 2023. She worked closely with the Board and investors leading the legal work which led to the sale of the business to Intelligent Lending Group in December 2024.
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