Thinking Legal Pod by Boyes Turner

On 12 October we held our inaugural conference for Heads of Legal and GCs with the theme “Building Growth and Efficiency for in-house legal teams” which included expert panels sharing their views.For our last panel, Sarah Williamson, Head of Commercial and Technology at Boyes Turner was joined by Andrew Cooke, General Counsel of Travelperk, Harry Borovick, General Counsel of Luminance and Joanna Goodman, journalist and Law Society Gazette columnist.In this session Andy and Harry discuss how they use AI within their day to day roles. Andy explains how his team have introduced an AI powered chatbot to answer repeated queries that are asked of the in-house legal team. Harry discusses how he uses the company’s own AI products to support the in-house team.Joanna talks about how it is not too late to start looking at AI and discusses accessible ways to find out what it can do.Andy advocates finding out what the pain is that you are seeking to resolve rather than rushing into an AI solution that may not be what is needed but being open to the benefits of AI. Joanna also elaborates on finding a use case for AI.Joanna also discusses the interaction between AI and ESG from a governance perspective but also on the environmental front, particularly bearing in mind the energy and water used in operating and cooling data centres used in running generative AI. 

On 12 October we held our inaugural conference for Heads of Legal and GCs with the theme “Building Growth and Efficiency for in-house legal teams” which included expert panels sharing their views.For our second panel, M&A specialist Chris Dobson, Corporate Partner at Boyes Turner was joined by Mark Blunden, VP and General Counsel EMEA of Culligan and Barbara Keane, General Counsel and Company Secretary of Origin Enterprises plc.Mark discusses his role within an M&A transaction and how the in-house legal team being involved at the very outset in discussions regarding how the deal is shaped can be beneficial and add value.Barbara reflects on how important it is to leverage off prior deals and knowledge and considers ways in which that expertise can be captured for use in future transactions.Mark and Barbara discuss how the role of the in-house team has evolved and what skills are needed to be a credible internal adviser and how to act as a bridge across the whole breadth of the business.The last key issue considered was how people are brought into the organisation post-acquisition and Barbara and Mark comment on how the structure of the deal can impact integration, particularly when there is an earn-out provision. They discuss how to maximise the benefit of the acquisition in these circumstances. 

On 12 October we held our inaugural conference for Heads of Legal and GCs with the theme “Building Growth and Efficiency for in-house legal teams” which included expert panels sharing their views.For our first panel Rowan Turrall, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution at Boyes Turner was joined by Holly Moore, Lawyer at ITV, Lucie Allen, Managing Director of Barbri, Mark Levine, Managing Director of BCL Legal and Dilsha Caldera, Deputy General Counsel at the Civil Aviation Authority.Holly was one of the first cohort of lawyers to qualify through the apprenticeship route and shares her experiences of the SQE route to qualification. She explains how the apprenticeship allowed her to access a legal career which might not otherwise have been available.Barbri is an SQE preparation course provider and Lucie explains how the new routes to qualification have opened up the legal ecosystem, not just for those looking to qualify but also for employers. Lucie also discusses how the SQE has enabled the in-house community to discover new ways of approaching workforce strategy, and upskilling and attracting talent.Dilsha shares the challenges that CAA has faced in recruiting and retaining talent on a limited budget and her advice to in-house teams around knowing and having your USP thread through the recruitment process.Mark discusses the recent findings of BCL’s salary survey and the importance for employers to identify what the role or opportunity is going to give to someone who is not unhappy in their current role. Mark also shares his thoughts around recruitment budgets and the impact of competition from law firms who often offer more flexibility in terms of hybrid working than in-house roles.We asked the audience whether the introduction of the SQE had made them think differently about how they may recruit junior talent. The answer was overwhelmingly “Yes”.

In-House in Conversation features conversations with in-house lawyers talking about their roles and the challenges they face.In this episode, Rowan Turrall, Head of Dispute Resolution at Boyes Turner, talks to Christian Waida of OpenText about managing a legal team across multiple jurisdictions and dealing with a major acquisition. 

Commercial Property update: A look back at the key updates of 2022 and a look forward to 2023 dealing with the aftermath of Coronavirus restrictions.Russell May, Richard Pulford and Jazmin Perry of Boyes Turner’s Dispute Resolution team will be looking back at some of the key updates affecting commercial property in 2022, in particular the impact of the expiry of the mandatory arbitration scheme for coronavirus rent arrears on issues such as recovery of monies owed, forfeiture options and the commercial considerations of such action.They take a look ahead at some of the changes that may be on the horizon for 2023 as well as offering advice on practical early prevention of issues which often cause disputes between landlord and tenant.

Construction update: A look back at the key cases of 2022 and a look forward to 2023.Rowan Turrall and Carly Dodds of Boyes Turner’s Dispute Resolution team look back at some of the key construction cases of 2022 and consider the practical implications for those in the industry. They then take a look ahead at some of the changes that may be on the horizon for 2023.This breakfast seminar podcast is of interest to all in the construction industry including developers, employers, contractors, subcontractors and professional consultants.

In-House in Conversation features conversations with in-house lawyers talking about their roles and the challenges they face. In this episode, Rowan Turrall, Head of Dispute Resolution at Boyes Turner talks to Emily Garvey, Chief Legal Officer of Westcoast Group about her first in-house role as Westcoast’s first in-house lawyer.  

Janey Rankin, Trainee Solicitor interviews Barry Stanton, Partner and Head of the Employment and Immigration team. In this episode, Barry describes his experience becoming a lawyer and how it was something he wanted to do since a young age. He has had an extensive career and after working with Boyes Turner for the last 21 years he tells us his favourite aspect of his career so far.

In this podcast, Emma O’Connor, Director and Head of HR Training, is joined by Carolyn Sykes of Raise Your Gaze www.raiseyourgaze.coach to discuss why menopause should be on the HR agenda.  With 1 in 10 women reportedly leaving the workforce due to menopause, at a time when retention and recruitment are tricky topics, this is an issue HR cannot ignore.  Emma and Carolyn discuss how can businesses support those who are suffering or managing their menopause symptoms, raise awareness of menopause within their workplace and champion and empower women at work.

Aimee Gaston, Trainee Solicitor interviews Julie Marsh, Partner in the Medical Negligence Team. Julie has been with the firm for over 14 years starting out as a trainee and recently being appointed as a Partner. Julie talks about her experience being a newly appointed Partner and how she balances it all.

In this podcast, we flip the idea of tales from the top and instead of answering the questions Boyes Turner’s Partner, Julie Marsh gets to ask the questions to our two trainees Meg Manganaro and Aimee Gaston.Julie talks to the trainees about their time at the firm so far. Meg and Amy answer interesting questions about what made them want to become a solicitor, what a typical day in the life of a trainee is and the difficulties that they may face.

In this episode Paul Lowery, Head of Wills, Trusts and Probate talks to Sophie Payne, Senior Associate in Boyes Turner’s Corporate team about sole directors and shareholders of private companies and the potential pitfalls that can occur in the event of their death.

In this podcast Boyes Turner’s Meg Manganaro is joined by Kim Milan, Senior Partner and Head of Personal Injury at the firm.Meg and Kim discuss highlights of Kim’s career, how she became Senior Partner and the responsibilities of the role, and what further impact she plans to make at the firm.

In this special episode, recorded live at the Law Society in London, Margarita Sivakova, co-founder and CEO of Ukrainian start-up Legal Nodes, tells Joanna Goodman about her dramatic escape from Kyiv, where she was visiting family, when war broke out. Since returning to London, Margarita has been running Legal Nodes remotely, supporting her team and their families, many of whom are still in Ukraine’s war zone, pivoting the business and launching new Web3 products. Margarita takes us through her fascinating personal and professional journey from law student in London to tech entrepreneur and wartime CEO.

Julie Marsh, Medical Negligence Partner interviews Bobby Griffin after his elective amputation. Bobby was a motorcyclist involved in a road traffic accident and was left with an injury to his left lower limb. He went on to choose to become a below knee amputee and forge a medal winning career as a Team GB parabadminton player.

As employers how can we drive forward inclusive workplaces? What are the benefits of engaging with a diversity awareness and training programme? What are the legal risks of failing to do so? In our latest podcast, Emma O’Connor, Director, speaks to Chico Chakravorty Founder of Doing Diversity Differently (www.doingdiversitydifferently.com) about just that : thinking differently about their ED+I programmes and what employers want to achieve from them.  Emma and Chico discuss the challenges to a successful ED+I programme, how we can be “clumsily human” and what are the postitive benefits of training and awareness programmes.

The Curious Lounge is a space in Reading town centre for people to meet, listen and learn. It opened in November 2019, three months before the pandemic struck, and immediately had to pivot online. Now it has re-opened as a community workspace and training centre, co-founder and chief mischief maker Louize Clarke tells Joanna Goodman how The Curious Lounge team – and Bernard the (girl) dog – are bringing the creative magic of community back to Reading, with digital skills and sales training that helps young people find their superpowers and get jobs, and opens the eyes of local companies to the diverse talent on their doorstep.

In this fourth and final episode in our series of contentious probate podcasts, they will be discussing the removal of executors and administrators if a beneficiary or someone else interested in a deceased’s estate considers that they are not carrying out their duties properly as regards the administration of the deceased’s estate.

In this podcast Boyes Turner’s Emma O’Connor is joined by Ian Feaver, Managing Director of Arteel UK Limited.  Emma and Ian discuss the importance of employee engagement and explore how businesses can create and maintain a of sense of purpose and togetherness however or wherever their workforce is working.  They also discuss how technology can assist us, but not drive engagement as well as the importance of aligning behaviours with company values, recognising our colleagues’ good behaviours and developing a sense of social togetherness.

Signal AI uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to connect the dots between multiple data sources, helping organisations cut through the noise and uncover information that they need. CEO and co-founder David Benigson joins Joanna Goodman to share his entrepreneur's journey from a start-up in his parents’ garage to an international company with over 600 global clients. He outlines some of Signal AI’s high-profile work around G7 governments’ Covid-19 response, and President Biden’s first 100 days in office.