First General Counsel Hiring Project: Case Study
Background
A fast-growing Internet Service Provider serving over 215,000 users across 500+ sites in eight European countries sought to appoint its first General Counsel. The company needed a senior legal leader to establish and develop the legal function from their UK headquarters in Yorkshire.
Client Brief
The search criteria included:
- Experience as in-house counsel in the telecommunications or technology sector
- Strong commercial acumen and business partnership capabilities
- Proven track record advising boards and senior management
- Ability to work autonomously while managing a complex international remit
- Top-tier law firm training combined with in-house experience
Solution
Working on an exclusively retained basis, we conducted a comprehensive executive search campaign targeting qualified in-house lawyers across the Northern UK region. Despite some geographic constraints of Yorkshire’s legal talent pool, in terms of volume, we delivered a diverse shortlist of six candidates. Each one presented the client with the required combination of technical expertise and leadership capabilities.
The successful candidate brought impressive credentials from a leading international law firm, coupled with valuable in-house experience in the telecommunications sector. Their combination of technical expertise, commercial acumen and leadership qualities made them the ideal choice to establish the company’s first in-house legal function.
The new General Counsel has successfully integrated into the business, providing strategic counsel to the board while building out the legal framework to support the company’s continued European expansion.
