The General Counsel Summit 2011

October 11th 2011
  • The Royal Horseguards - One Whitehall Place, London

FROM THE BASEMENT TO THE BOARDROOM

A world of more stringent regulatory requirements looms, creating a complex set of challenges for business. General Counsel will have to guide their firms through this often opaque, inconsistent and sometimes contradictory environment. Risk and compliance has risen from the dark basement office to the boardroom.  General Counsel will be at the forefront in ensuring firms can both compete and comply.

ECONOMIST CONFERENCES' ANNUAL GENERAL COUNSEL SUMMIT is the event that tackles the key strategic issues facing General Counsel. Now in its eighth year, our events have always made a point of addressing major business issues rather than legal technicalities. It confronts not only General Counsel's perspective but brings in viewpoints from major stakeholders and influential thinkers. 

KEY TOPICS INCLUDE:

  • Leadership challenges for a time of rapid change
  • Global compliance—what are the key challenges?
  • Risk to reputation—how do you stay in control?
  • Keeping it together—how do you handle investigations?
  • Compliance and corporate culture—individual vs. organisation.

Over 100 senior in-house lawyers gathered this year for interactive discussions and debate which inspired fresh thinking. Click here for available speaker presentations. We look forward to welcoming you next year.

08.15

REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS

09.00

Welcome from Economist Conferences & Chair's opening remarks

Julia Chain, Managing Director, Huron Legal
 KEYNOTE ADDRESS
09.10

Keynote address: Meeting the needs of the business

We’ll hear from a business leader or chairman of the board how they see the impact of global compliance on their business and what they expect from General Counsel in addressing the challenges. Issues to be addressed might include:
  • The GC’s role in the context of how corporate compliance responsibilities are allocated
  • Indicators of success or failure
  • How do you calculate risk appetite and get board and management agreement and alignment?

Ambassador Phillip Lader, Non-executive Chairman, WPP

09.40

Setting the scene: A global context

An economist gives his take on the global economy and predictions for the next five years – creating a context for tomorrow’s business challenges.

Alasdair Ross, Global Product Director and Director of Wire Services, Economist Intelligence Unit

   GLOBAL COMPLIANCE—THE KEY CHALLENGES
10.10Panel discussion I: What are the major compliance issues for General Counsel?
  • How well do boards of directors understand the legal and regulatory issues their companies face worldwide? What is the GC’s role in educating them?
  • How do we address the growing burden of regulatory intervention across a range of industry sectors?
  • Balancing outcomes - can you take a ‘commercial’ approach to compliance and risk management? What is the GC’s role in delivering the agreed level of risk exposure and what are the potential conflicts?
  • What sort of legal assurance is the general counsel expected to provide, and how credible can they be?
  • The challenges of regulation and compliance

Bruce Macmillan, General Counsel, Legal Services Board
John Smart, Partner, Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services, Ernst & Young

11.00

NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK

 REPUTATION: STAYING IN CONTROL
11.20

Keynote Address:  Tales from the front line – what to do when it all goes wrong

Can you steal victory from a crisis? Or do you think you’ve got away with it this time and then realised you haven’t. You hope it won’t happen but if it does they’ve seen it all and handled the fallout. An expert in crisis/reputation management will share some stories.

Andrew Griffin, Chief Executive, Regester Larkin

11.50Panel discussion II:  Taking control – what General Counsel can do
  • How do you manage reputation when taking risks that you can’t control?
  • How can the general counsel carve out a clear remit when reputational risk cannot be disassociated from other forms of risk?
  • What are the key considerations when working with other corporate functions to tackle these challenges?

Natasha Singarayer, General Counsel and Company Secretary, The Abbeyfield Society
John Downing, Head of Legal, Imperial Tobacco
Mark Rawlinson, London Managing Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Robin Saphra, Group General Counsel, COLT Telecom

12.50LUNCH
14.00

Keynote address:  Learning to speak human

The law is a language unto itself. But it’s a language that can be difficult, exclusive and ineffective. There’s proof that legal language often fails to do even the job it’s intended for. So how do you speak human, without losing your credibility, or drowning in legal hot water?

Neil Taylor, Creative Director, The Writer

14.30Panel discussion III: Keeping it together – handling investigations
  • Practical case studies – How do you prepare for different types of investigation (ie, OFT, EU, Police, etc)? And how do you manage the process?
  • Interplay between civil and criminal law  - keeping the issues in balance and keeping the optimum outcome in view
  • How prepared should the General Counsel be?
  • How do maintain control of your business?

Chris Vaughan, General Counsel, Balfour Beatty
Jerry Temko, Vice-president, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for APEL, Astellas Pharma Group
Emma Slatter, General Counsel, UK and Western Europe, Deutsche Bank

15.20NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK

COMPLIANCE AND CORPORATE CULTURE
15.40

Presentation: The individual and the organisation – embedding the corporate culture

Adrian Furnham, Professor of Psychology, UCL

16.00Panel discussion IV: dealing with the cultural issues around compliance
  • What do we mean when we talk about the behavioural aspects of compliance
  • How can we manage compliance across the organisation?
David Bagley, Group General Manager, Head of Group Compliance, HSBC
Ellie Doohan, General Counsel and General Secretary, ASDA
Robert Swade, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Jumeirah Group
16.50CHAIR'S FINAL REMARKS
17.00CLOSE OF SUMMIT

Julia Chain, Managing Director, Huron Legal

With over 25 years of experience of legal and management roles in both private practice and industry, Julia Chain brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the debate and guarantees a sparkling and informed discussions.

Philip Lader, Non-Executive Chairman, WPP

Former United States Ambassador to the UK and Philip Lader has held many non-executive posts and is a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley. He will share his thoughts on the global compliance environment and set the scene for the discussions to come.

Andrew Griffin, Chief Executive, Regester Larkin

As head of a consultancy specialising in reputation and crisis management, Andrew is the ideal person to share with us some stories of how companies have managed their reputations in a crisis.

John Downing, Head of Legal, Imperial Tobacco

Tobacco’s always going to be a tricky industry when you’re talking about reputation, so John’s informed contribution to the panel on this topic will certainly add value to the discussion.

Chris Vaughan, General Counsel, Balfour Beatty

We will hear from general counsel of construction and utility giant Balfour Beatty how they approach the challenge of handling investigations and how they prepare for the unexpected.

David Bagley, Group General Manager, Head of Group Compliance, HSBC

As evidenced in their advertising, HSBC are proud of their understanding of the markets in which they operate. David Bagley is the ideal person to enlighten us on they meet the challenges of embedding a global compliance culture in the organisation.

Jerry Temko, Vice-president, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for APEL, Astellas Pharma Europe

Pharma is one of the most highly regulated industries and Jerry will give some insight into how investigations are best handled and what role the general counsel should play.

John Smart, Partner, Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services, Ernst & Young

With his extensive experience in fraud investigation, John Smart will be able to offer an informed viewpoint on the changing business risks in an increasingly global and complex business environment.

Mark Rawlinson, London Managing Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Mark was recently described by The Times as the 'highest profile lawyer of the past year' due to his roles for BP on its strategic response to the Gulf of Mexico situation and for the Red Knights in their attempts to buy Manchester United.

Alasdair Ross, Global Product Director and Director of Wire Services, Economist Intelligence Unit

Alasdair specialises in the risks facing business operations around the world and the strategies employed by companies to manage those risks, as well as exploring scenarios around the global economic outlook.

Robert Swade, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Jumeirah Group

As General Counsel of Dubai-based international hospitality management group, Robert will have some good insights for the discussion on the cultural issues surrounding compliance.

Bruce Macmillan, General Counsel, Legal Services Board

The Legal Services Board is the new oversight regulator for the legal profession, and as its GC, Bruce will share with us some valuable insights on the in-house legal viewpoint of global compliance.

Natasha Singarayer, General Counsel and Company Secretary, The Abbeyfield Society

Defending your company’s reputation is always a difficult issue to negotiate, and Natasha will share with us some of the particular challenges faced by the charity sector.

Neil Taylor, Creative Director, The Writer

Neil will demonstrate the power of language to enhance communication, and show that even within the conventions of law, there is scope for creating a more compelling style.

Ellie Doohan, General Counsel and Company Secretary, ASDA

Heading up a legal department of at the world’s biggest supermarket chain brings many challenges, and Ellie will highlight the issues they face in implementing a culture of compliance within a global organisation.

Emma Slatter, General Counsel, UK and Western Europe, Deutsche Bank

Emma will provide a valuable viewpoint from the financial services sector on managing the investigation process, and how to carry on with business as usual.

Robin Saphra, Group General Counsel, COLT Telecom

Coming from the highly-regulated telecoms industry, Robin will give his take on the role of General Counsel in managing corporate reputation and taking control in a crisis situation.

Click on speaker images to view their presentations.

    

Please note that the presentations are for attendees of The General Counsel Summit and are password protected.

 

WHY ATTEND?
  • Join over 100 senior business lawyers who pay year-on-year to attend an event they know will gather a roll call of keynote speakers, panelists and other senior in-house counsel
  • Partake in a genuine peer-to-peer debate among a non-diluted audience. There'll be interactive panel discussions, presentations and case-studies that draw on the views of peers, psychologists and board leaders
  • Gain insight from the only event that is not afraid to offer a broad perspective while covering pertinent issues facing the GC
  • Meet other senior business lawyers who are on top of their compliance and reputational obligations
  • 5.5 CPD Hours to be accredited to all attendees

 

 

OUR ADVISORY BOARD
Chair: Julia Chain, Managing Director, Huron Consulting UK

Adrian Morris, Associate General Counsel, R&M, BP
Maria da Cunha, Director of People, Legal and GIA, British Airways
John Smart, Partner, Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services, Ernst & Young
Andrew Durant, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Henry Knowles, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Hikma Pharmaceuticals
John Downing, Head of Group Legal, Imperial Tobacco Group
Bruce MacMillan, General Counsel, Legal Services Board
Kate Cheetham, General Counsel, Group, Lloyds Banking Group
Oscar Grut, Group General Counsel & Company Secretary, and Managing Director, Digital Editions, The Economist Group 

 

 

WHO ATTENDS?

Over 100 senior in-house lawyers attend our annual General Counsel Summit every year.

• Presidents, VPs and SVPs, Corporate Affairs
• General Counsel
• Group Legal Directors
• Corporate Counsel
• Chief Legal Officers
• Compliance and Company Secretary

90% of our audience have senior titles of general counsel, in-house counsel, VP-legal or legal
director, and hail from the largest international players across all industries.

90% of delegates at our General Counsel Summit 2011 said our event was of higher quality to similar events they've attended.

Feedback included:

"I thought it was an excellent day, one of the very few I have attended where there was a true discussion in each session. In addition, I thought the quality of all of the speakers and the delegates very good indeed."
General Counsel Europe, Nestlé Group
"Very informative. Excellent format with good networking breaks"
General Counsel, KPMG International
"Interesting and relevant issues"
Head of Legal Services, Network Rail
"Good range of subjects and thought-provoking speakers"
Head of Legal, ASDA
"High quality of content and speakers "
Associate General Counsel, HSBC Holdings
"Plenty of interactive discussion with delegates"
Divisional General Counsel, Cash Solutions, G4S

Silver sponsors:

Ernst & Young

Dealing with complex issues of fraud, regulatory compliance and business disputes can detract from efforts to achieve your company’s potential.  At Ernst & Young we have over 1,200 fraud investigation and dispute professionals to help you better manage your fraud risk and compliance exposure.  We assemble the right multidisciplinary and culturally aligned team to work with you and your legal advisors.  We give the benefit of our broad sector experience, deep subject matter knowledge and the latest insights from our work worldwide.

For further information visit www.ey.com

 

Freshfields is a leading international law firm, providing legal advice to clients throughout the world. With over 2,500 lawyers in 27 key business centres, the firm provides a comprehensive service to national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and government.

For further information visit www.freshfields.com

 

Supporting media:


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