Thinking Legal Pod by Boyes Turner 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. 
Episode Links
Visit our website Contact us

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”.
Episode Links
Visit our website Contact us

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. 
Episode Links
Visit our website Contact us

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. 
Episode Links
Visit our website Contact us

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.
Episode Links
Visit our website Contact us

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.
Episode Links
Visit our website Contact us