The Crafty Show - Crafty Counsel's in-house legal podcast

In this episode, Lucie Cruz, Content Producer at Crafty Counsel, is joined by Richard Barnett, General Counsel at The National Gallery.Responsible for advising The Gallery on all regulatory and commercial matters, Richard has played a crucial role in facilitating the acquisition of Thomas Lawrence’s “Red Boy” through a private treaty sale, as well as procuring works by Veronese, Pissarro, Poussin, and others.In this episode, Richard opens up about the considerations and negotiations involved in acquiring artworks. He also shares his work for The National Gallery's Bicentenary - celebrating 200 years of bringing people and paintings together.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Toby Hornett, Head of Community at Crafty Counsel, sits down with Mel Nebhrajani CB, Director General for Litigation with Justice and Security at GLD.Mel, who previously served as Legal Director at the Department for Health and Social Care, led the department's legal response to the pandemic while also navigating EU Exit challenges. She is now Director General for Litigation with Justice and Security at GLD In this episode, Mel shares insights from her experiences so far, as well as the lessons she has learned from her role in both the response and inquiry.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel, speaks with Natalie Salunke, an experienced GC from the Tech and other sectors who recently started her practice as a Fractional General Counsel, and Shrina Shah, formerly the Group General Counsel & Company Secretary at Puregym. In addition to their roles as in-house counsel, Natalie and Shrina have both taken on the additional responsibility of serving as Trustees. Shrina ventured into her first Trustee role in 2018 and presently holds the position of Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Kiln Theatre. Natalie occupies a dual trustee role, contributing her expertise to both Kent Union and the Young Urban Arts Foundation.In this episode, they explore their daily responsibilities, discuss why GCs are well-suited for these roles, and offer insights on balancing extracurricular commitments with professional responsibilities.This episode was kindly sponsored by Taylor Root, a global legal, risk and compliance search and recruitment consultancy.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel, speaks with Shika Soni, Assistant General Counsel at Principal Asset Management.Before joining Principal, Shika worked as Senior Legal Counsel at Royal London Asset Management. She also spent time in New York on secondment from Orchard Solicitors, where she passed the NY Bar exams and became admitted in New York State.Alongside her career, Shika serves as a mentor to a large number of lawyers and aspiring lawyers, as well as individuals exploring careers in law or financial services. In this conversation, Shika discusses the value of mentorship, reflecting on her own experiences and the impact it has had on her career.This episode was kindly sponsored by Taylor Root, a global legal, risk and compliance search and recruitment consultancy.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White, sits down with Fintech Day 2023 speaker Chrissy Hill (General Counsel at Parity Technologies). Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Chrissy discusses her move to the UK in 2002. She shares her journey from Linklaters to Barclays and then recounts her nearly decade-long experience working with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, where she provided operational, legal, and regulatory guidance.Currently serving as General Counsel for a software developer (and leading contributor to Polkadot), Chrissy also discusses her experience working in the blockchain space and explores the longevity and relevance of blockchain technology and AI. She shares her expectations that the impact and influence of these technologies will continue to evolve and become seamlessly integrated into our lives, ultimately serving as tools that improve various aspects of our daily reality.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel, speaks with Stephanie-Kate Bratton, General Counsel at AgriFutures, Australia.Stephanie's journey as a lawyer began in Sydney, Australia, where she worked as a lawyer at Clayton Utz and stayed for several years, honing her legal skills. However, her story took a fascinating turn in 2016 when she decided to transition from private practice to in-house lawyering. She relocated across the globe to join Amazon in Seattle as corporate counsel. In the midst of her career and far from home, Stephanie battled kidney disease, and in a surprising turn of events, she found herself unexpectedly pregnant. Missing home, she moved back to Sydney with Amazon in 2020 before taking on her current role as General Counsel at AgriFutures.During the course of this conversation, Stephanie speaks about health issues, hidden disabilities, life in a different country, and her book, “My Mummy is a Lawyer," which brilliantly simplifies the diverse roles of lawyers, using concepts that little ones can understand. The book has not only created a sense of community and connection among working mothers but has also highlighted the importance of embracing the multifaceted roles that mothers play.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel sits down with Simon Duffield, Lead, Legal - COVAX, at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.  Simon shares his professional journey, which began with a career in London as a trainee at Linklaters, where he stayed for over 11 years. In 2019, he then made the move to Switzerland and in-house to join Verisure as Group Corporate & Transactions Counsel. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Simon joined Gavi to support the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.  Simon reflects on the pandemic, its impact, and his unique role as a lawyer actively working to ensure that vaccines reached those in need during a time of unprecedented crisis. He also discusses the excellent work that Gavi does and its global impact, which has led to the immunisation of over a billion children through various programmes over the years.This episode was kindly sponsored by Re:link Linklaters, the premium contract lawyer platform from Linklaters.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White sits down with one of our Fintech Day speakers, Kate Luton (Senior Counsel at Motive Partners).Kate shares her journey from private practice to in-house roles in the legal tech and fintech industries, shedding light on the unique challenges and opportunities she's encountered along the way.Kate's experience working with startups and established law firms has given her a fresh perspective on the legal industry. She highlights the importance of diversity of thought, collaboration across teams, and the entrepreneurial mindset required to thrive in these dynamic environments.This episode was kindly sponsored by Ignition Law, an entrepreneurial law firm supporting startups, scale-ups, and growing businesses.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

The Crafty Show is back! Launching season 4 with this special episode featuring the awesome keynote that Andy Cooke, General Counsel at TravelPerk, delivered at Crafty Fest in June 2023.Andy takes us on a journey - delving into the headwinds facing the legal industry today, addressing issues such as changing client demands, evolving knowledge consumption patterns, and the crucial role of trust in the profession. He also discusses the impact of AI technology on the legal landscape and how it's reshaping our approach to legal work.Andy provides valuable insights into how legal professionals can thrive amidst these challenges. He explores the concept of treating legal as a product and emphasises the importance of customer-centricity. He shares his experiences in trying innovative approaches and embracing change to find greater fulfilment and create value in the legal field.Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register for the Crafty Counsel Community for free.

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White sits down with Laura Jeffords Greenberg, Interim General Counsel at Worksome based in Denmark. Laura talks us through  her incredible career journey in this episode. From starting out at the National Football League in New York and a brief stint in private practice in LA, to moving in-house once more, but across the world this time to Red Bull Media House in Austria. With such a variety of in-house legal roles between Europe and the US, Laura provides a look at her experiences, including cultural differences in new countries and adjusting to a new sector. This conversation also touches briefly upon technology, especially the potential of AI,  for in-house legal teams. Subscribe to The Crafty Show wherever you get your podcast. Find comprehensive show notes for this episode (and more content) on the Crafty Counsel website. Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register on the Crafty Counsel website for free. 

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, we delve into the world of Jordan Breslow, a seasoned former General Counsel whose expert advice and timely intervention saved his CEO from potential jail time. Jordan talks to us about his experience working in California’s flowering ecosystem of innovation and tech in the past decades. This conversation takes a focused look at Jordan’s time with Opsware and the role he played in preventing his CEO and one of the most important venture capitalists, Ben Horowitz, from facing prison. Jordan reflects on this experience - including the responsibility of the General Counsel in saying “no” when necessary, the question reporting lines for General Counsel, and building a culture grounded in transparency where people can speak up.Subscribe to The Crafty Show wherever you get your podcast. Find comprehensive show notes for this episode (and more content) on the Crafty Counsel website. Join the Crafty Counsel Community to discover a space where in-house legal professionals can find joy, insight, and connection. Register on the Crafty Counsel website for free.

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Ben White (Founder & CEO at Crafty Counsel) is joined by two guests - Sharon Harris, an experienced General Counsel turned Executive, and Alexandra Badel, Head of Legal for Morgan Sindall Infrastructure.During their time together at Costain,  Alex and Sharon did something unusual by actually sharing the role of General Counsel. This conversation explores this experience and what in-house legal professionals can learn from it.  Look at everything from the unexpected surprises, and reality of making it work, to Sharon and Alex's key advice for others considering job sharing.This episode was kindly sponsored by Taylor Root, a global legal, risk and compliance search and recruitment consultancy. At Crafty Counsel, we provide an authentic, collaborative community for in-house legal professionals seeking joy, insight, and connection in their careers. With members from across the globe, representing a diverse range of professional backgrounds, our community is a hub for sharing experiences and forming invaluable connections. You can register to join the Crafty Counsel community for free.

In this last episode of Season Two of The Crafty Show, we pulled together some of the nuggets of wisdom our interviewees shared with us. We asked whether there was any advice they had been given that they use….We spoke to several lawyers with fascinating career stories. We spoke to a former Olympic fencer and learned that no matter how successful you are, even the best lawyers can suffer from imposter syndrome.  Explored how dyslexic thinking can be a great strength for a lawyer and can assist in the problem-solving part of the job. We discovered the charitable causes members of Crafty Counsel’s community are passionate about and give their time to as trustees. We even learned from in-house lawyers who support Saas and blockchain companies and spoke about Crypto and the metaverse.Counsel’s podcast focuses on the career journeys of in-house lawyers. Crafty Counsel is on a mission to spread joy, insight and connection for in-house legal professionals, and we host online and in-person events.  Crafty Counsel's community of in-house lawyers meet up regularly, online and at in-person events, to discuss ideas, offer support and network.  If you want to know more, why not sign up to the community? 

In this episode of the Crafty Show, we are joined by Emma Haywood, Associate General Counsel at Babylon, an international digital healthcare company. Before joining Babylon’s in-house team in April 2021, Emma worked at the Magic Circle firm Slaughter and May for eight years. Emma graduated with a first-class degree in Modern and Medieval languages from the University of Cambridge.  Emma is a mentor with The Social Mobility Foundation and leads a mentoring partnership between Babylon’s legal team and a mentoring charity called GROW. Among other things Emma talks about her career journey from the Magic Circle to in-house counsel in the healthcare sector, what she learned from moving in-house, her passion for social mobility and mentoring and what brings her joy. Emma is part of Crafty Counsel's community of in-house lawyers who meet up regularly, online and at in-person events, to discuss ideas, offer support and network.  If you would like to know more why not sign up to the community? 

In this episode of The Crafty Show, we are joined by Harpreet Kaur Mangat, in-house counsel at Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation).   Before joining Sony in July 2019,  Harpreet worked as in-house counsel at YouGov. She also worked at Amazon twice in the more recent role at the company, she focused on regulatory dispute resolution and also provided legal support to Amazon’s Advertising and Loss Prevention teams. Harpreet started her career as a paralegal in London before moving to New York City for work. A role as a paralegal at Japan Tobacco International brought her back to the UK again. She is one of the founding Trustees of Making Mum Proud, a charitable organisation that supports young students who lost a parent or guardian to meet their educational goals. Among other things Harpreet talks about her career journey, the highlights and challenges of working in-house, her work at Playstation and her passion for helping young people who have faced adversity. Harpreet is part of Crafty Counsel's community of in-house lawyers who meet up regularly, online and at in-person events, to discuss ideas, offer support and network.  If you would like to know more why not sign up to the community? 

In this episode, Ben White, the Founder of Crafty Counsel, is joined by Pav Gill,  who was the Head of Legal for the Asia-Pacific region based in Singapore at the now defunct German fintech company Wirecard. Pav uncovered widespread fraud at the financial services provider and became a whistleblower. In 2018 Pav was forced out of the company after his efforts to conduct an internal investigation were thwarted. He then went to the media. Pav spoke to the Financial Times and the journalist who worked on the story, Dan McCrum, wrote a book about the widespread fraud at Wirecard called Money Men. Pav shares what he learned from his experience and what advice he would give to other in-house lawyers. 

In this episode of The Crafty Show Renée Graham, Head of Content at Crafty Counsel is joined by Alex O’Connell, the Head of Legal and Company Secretary at FeverTree, a company that specialises in premium tonic waters and mixers. Alex first entered the drinks industry when he was seconded from the Magic Circle firm Freshfields to AB InBev. He joined the company’s legal department on a permanent basis. Before becoming a lawyer Alex enjoyed a successful career in fencing and took part in the 2008 Olympic Games as part of Great Britain’s fencing team. Among other things, Alex talks about how his athletic career influenced the kind of lawyer he is today and his experience of working on the major acquisition of SABMiller while in private practice. 

In this episode, we are joined by Sam Lester, Director and Senior Legal Counsel at TD Securities, which is a leading Canadian investment bank and financial services provider that offers capital market and advisory services to corporate and institutional clients globally.Before joining TD Securities Sam was a Legal Director for Investment Banking and Capital Markets, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Credit Suisse and before that Vice President – Investment Banking Legal (EMEA) at global investment banking firm, Jefferies, which is headquartered in New York.Among other things Sam talks about his career journey, the highlights and challenges of working in-house in investment banking and the best advice he has received.Sam is part of Crafty Counsel’s FTSE and Friends group. Crafty Counsel’s community of in-house lawyers meet regularly, online and at in-person events, to discuss the things that matter to them.

In this episode we are joined by Sebastian Goldsmith, General Counsel of Medigold Health, which is a leading occupational health and wellbeing service provider in the UK. Before joining Medigold Health in March 2020, Sebastain worked as a commercial associate at IFM Investors. He was a corporate solicitor at Latham & Watkins and he trained and qualified at Nabarro LLP. Among other things Sebastian talks about his career journey, the highlights and challenges of working in-house, neurodiversity in the workplace and his passion for legal tech. 

In this episode of The Crafty Show, we are joined by Atik Ahmed, Head of Legal at the Marco Polo Network, which is a blockchain enabled trade finance platform company. Before joining the company in 2017, Atik worked in the insurance industry at Unum and Bupa and he trained at Pinsent Masons. Apart from being a lawyer, Atik is a keen sportsman and avid Crossfitter. Atik was also a keen student journalist and was shortlisted for an award by The Guardian newspaper for Student Sports Journalist of the Year in 2006. Among other things Atik talks about his career journey, the highlights and challenges of working in-house, working in blockchain and steering the legal function at a high growth company as it scales up.