OnlyFans: We’re not just about adult content, we’re about safety
The UK’s most controversial business hired former Orrick partner Keily Blair as chief strategy and operations officer – and she has become a key advocate for its model.
In-house interview: A musical GC on adapting to the streaming era
The beginning of Jonathan Aitken’s career with PRS for Music coincided with the explosive arrival of online listening: first with digital downloads and then eventually streaming services. Music consumption was revolutionised right before Aitken’s ears. If you’re unfamiliar with PRS, chances are you’ll have come across their work. Think the Spotify soundtrack to your City […]
Growing a legal team with OakNorth’s Ben Wulwik
Ben Wulwik joined OakNorth in its early start-up days, over six years ago. Founded by university friends Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, OakNorth came about after they realised there was a gap in the market for providing funding to entrepreneurs following the experience they’d had in trying to secure a loan for the first business […]
South Asian Heritage Month: The in-house perspective
This month has seen a celebration of South Asian heritage, commemorating and raising awareness for people with their roots in the region. The Lawyer spoke to Shika Soni and Krishna Raman as part of South Asian Heritage Month to discuss their experiences and advice as in-house lawyers of South Asian descent. Soni is assistant general […]
In-house interview: Pandora’s Nicholas Golding
When Nicholas Golding joined Pandora as UK legal head in August 2018, the Copenhagen-headquartered retailer was at the start of a two-year turnaround strategy which that would overhaul its operational structure. Having become the world’s largest jewellery retailer, Pandora was to now focus on profitability. “Pandora particularly attracted me because of the brand and the […]
In-house interview: Revolut GC duo who established an in-house legal team from scratch
From a tiny room in a shared space in Canary Wharf to being labelled the most valuable UK tech startup at the time, Revolut is a success story. This is all down to the hard work behind the scenes of transforming this startup into a high-profile fintech bank. Joining from Herbert Smith Freehills, Tom Hambrett […]
In-house interview: Missguided GC Phil Clancy and a tale of two contrasting years
The Missguided app features on many women’s home screens as another fast fashion app to scroll through prior to an important event, party or date. After 18 months of having no general counsel and only using interim options, Missguided hired Phil Clancy in 2019. “It was just too good an opportunity to turn down. I always […]
In-house interview: The logistics of GLP’s Rachel Walker
Seen from the motorway, the warehouses are sheds of a graduated blue. John Lewis, River Island, Amazon are some of the names on the walls. They are all assets operated by logistics company GLP Europe; its general counsel, Rachel Walker, is on a quest to see them one by one. “I have been in most […]
In-house interview: Atom Bank’s Laura Farnworth on moving from start-up to IPO plans
One of Laura Farnworth’s earliest memories of Atom Bank was arriving in a barren boardroom absent of printers and filing cabinets ready to crack on. So much so that her first question to new colleagues was straight to the point: “What do you need me to do?” Seven years on, the mobile-only bank has gone […]
In-house interview: Ennismore general counsel Imran Bhatia
January 2020 and the year was alight with possibility. London-based Ennismore was a young business which had recently debuted its sleek Hoxton-branded hotels in the US and introduced a co-working concept within its hospitality properties. Then travel was suddenly brought to a standstill. “At Ennismore we saw Covid coming from the start of 2020,” says […]
The in-house interview: The Royal Mint GC, Chris Inson
The pandemic has accelerated the shift away from cash to contactless payments. For The Royal Mint and its general counsel, there’s opportunity to diversify.
In-house interview: Opus GC Alison Coates-Howard on fighting cancer during law school exams
Alison Coates-Howard, general counsel at Bristol-headquartered tech recruitment business Opus Talent Solutions, is on the lookout for apprentices that want to take a different route into the world of law. They don’t have to have a law degree – what they need is to be enterprising, ambitious and hungry to learn. Coates-Howard joined Bristol-based Opus […]