Discover

A 'general counsel' is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States. The status and prominence of the general counsel has grown much over the past 10 years as is evidenced by the large number of lawyers who come into the role from private practice.
A general counsel’s roles include furnishing legal advice to the corporation’s board of directors, CEO, and other senior executives. But a contemporary general counsel often occupies other roles as well, each complex and additionally interlinked in many ways. These linkages may be beneficial to a corporation and society more generally. Nonetheless, general counsel’s position has often been characterized as ambiguous, a characterization that suggests that not all occupants of the position succeed in balancing its multiple roles in either a professionally or socially satisfactory manner.
'Professional bodies'
In the UK a group of general counsel, called the GC100, was officially launched on 9th March 2005 and brings together the senior legal officers of more than 85 FTSE100 companies.

Contents

GC100

References

See also

GC100

The GC100 group was created in response to the increasing volume and complexity of domestic and international law and regulation which impacts on UK listed companies. The group was formed with the support of Practical Law Company which acts as its secretariat. [1]
The main objectives of the GC100 are to:

★ Provide a forum for practical and business focused input on key areas of legislative and policy reform common to UK listed companies.

★ Enable members to share best practice in relation to law, risk management, compliance and other areas of common interest.
Membership of the GC100 is by invitation only. At the Group AGM on the 16 January 2007 members voted in favour of extending membership to company secretaries as well as general counsel in the FTSE100. The formal name of the GC100 is , "The Association of General Counsel and Company Secretaries of the FTSE100", although it will continue to be known as the GC100.
The first officers of the GC100 for 2007 are:
Helen Mahy, National Grid (Chair).
Rosemary Martin, Reuters and Peter Maynard, Prudential (Vice-chairs).
Richard Bennett, HSBC (Treasurer).
The following are members of the executive committee:
Rupert Bondy, GlaxoSmithKline
Grant Dawson, Centrica
Nick Folland, Kingfisher Plc
Mark Harding, Barclays
Andrea Harris, WPP
David Jackson, BP
Peter Kennerley, Scottish & Newcastle
Alastair Michie, Lloyds TSB
Christopher Roberts, Reckitt Benckiser

References

1. The GC100 Group

See also

★ Chief legal officer