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General Counsel

Specialist UK General Counsel Search Firm

Florit Legal is a specialist general counsel search firm that recruits General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers for businesses across the UK.

The GC or CLO is a critical C-level hire — they serve as the eyes and ears of your executive team on legal and regulatory matters and help drive business strategy. At Florit Legal, we understand the nuances of this role across the various industries, organisational structures and environments in which a GC is needed and the experience required in each situation.

In the ‘start-up’ and ‘scale-up’ categories, the General Counsel might be your first in-house lawyer, assuming hands-on responsibility for governance, compliance, risk management, and in some instances also insurance and HR. Larger and more mature organisations would see their General Counsel building in-house legal teams over time, initially with a flat structure comprising less experienced legal counsel. Later, as the organisation continues to grow, the GC is more likely to coordinate a small number of experienced lawyers, in Head of Legal or Associate/Assistant GC roles, themselves managing small legal teams that are either responsible for different business units or distinct legal specialisms.

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Working with a General Counsel Search Firm

With our LTAR® System, every General Counsel or CLO search starts with the same foundations: a full brief from C-level executives, to elicit their precise needs as key stakeholders, and an assessment of critical behaviours. This is then followed by proactive candidate outreach and engagement, culminating in the presentation of a shortlist aligned to your technical, behavioural and cultural requirements.

Our process ensures candidates match your specific needs, whether you’re a fast-growing startup requiring a versatile legal leader, or a multinational seeking a seasoned Group General Counsel to manage a multi-faceted, EMEA or global legal function.

Our expertise:

  • Identifying GCs who excel in leadership and business strategy.
  • Tailoring searches for companies transitioning from external counsel to their first in-house lawyer.
  • Finding GCs capable of building strong in-house legal teams.
  • Advising on GC remuneration. Typical General Counsel salaries by company type are set out in our London and UK regional salary guides.

You can trust Florit Legal to deliver a diverse shortlist of thoroughly assessed talent for your General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer and Legal Director searches across a range of industries.

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What our clients say

“Miguel and his team have helped us to recruit several members of our Legal Team. They have a good grasp of the issues and qualities that really matter to us.”

Alex Simpson - General Counsel

“Their honesty and knowledgeable approach works. I would strongly recommend any company looking for an in-house lawyer to speak to Florit Legal.”

Andrew Greenwood - Risk Director

“I worked with Florit Legal previously and the team to be well informed, responsive, and creative in their approach to the legal market. I have no reservation in recommending them.”

Andrew Hoyle - Non-Executive Director

“Having never recruited a lawyer before, I contacted Florit Brooke following a recommendation from Addleshaw Goddard. They quickly understood my needs, grasped the issues and delivered what we were looking for.”

Andrew Turner - Chief Executive Officer

“Honesty and integrity is what we look for when hiring, and the same goes for the consultants we choose to deal with. We found Miguel lived up to his reputation and also displayed tenacity, tact and understanding.”

David Biesterfield - Development Director

“Miguel has his finger on the pulse of the legal market. He is persistent in a way that gets results, and is not a negative. Florit Legal provided the best candidates by far. An excellent result and very easy to deal with.”

Jennifer Hamilton - Development and Environment Director

"I worked with Florit Legal and would have no hesitation in recommending them."

Jenny Geddes - In-house Talent Acquisition Specialist

"Miguel has hired lawyers for me in three different companies. He has a real ability to understand your business and your needs quickly, which enables him to add value. The team are professional, reliable and able to deliver a result."

Ken Mullen - Company Secretary & General Counsel

“Florit Legal is a legal recruitment business I feel I can trust. They have proven their ability to identify and engage with some excellent candidates and successfully recruit for us.”

Mark Amsden - FTSE General Counsel and Company Secretary

“I have always found Miguel to be personable, proactive and responsive. He tends to present options rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach, and provides honest insight and feedback. He has delivered every time.”

Paul Gregson - HR Director

“Initially recommended to me by DLA Piper, Miguel Florit is a trusted advisor who recruited several members of our UK legal team, including me. My personal expectations have also been exceeded, evolving beyond legal into a general management role.”

Paul Ravenscroft - Global Head of M&A

“Miguel’s, and his team’s, approach to in-house legal recruitment is refreshing, breaks the stereotypes and is one to which all legal recruitment consultants should aspire. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend them more highly. The service and work ethic simply surpasses that offered by the opposition; you should give them a try."

Richard Fox - Head of Legal

“I faced a very important and urgent resourcing issue and they not only offered a pragmatic solution, but also secured a very capable appointee. I can trust Miguel to give me honest, helpful and practical advice.”

Sarah Caddy - Legal Director, Company Secretary

“No waffle and certainly not pushy. It’s worth speaking to them. As an experienced HR professional, I can honestly say that their approach is much better than many of their competitors.

Sian Evans - Group HR Director

"Florit Legal have assisted Croda with a number of searches over the years. I give them an exclusive mandate, since they take great care to understand our needs and waste no time in identifying the right mix of highly relevant and well briefed candidates. The behavioural assessment technology they provide for us is very helpful."

Tom Brophy - Group General Counsel & Company Secretary (FTSE 100)

Client: arco
Client: 2-sisters-food-group
Client: adidas
Client: allergy therapeutics
Client: arla
Client: arrow-global
Client: ask4
Client: Assura
Client: Balfour Beatty
Client: biobank
Client: Bring Energy
Client: Brooks Macdonald
Client: BT Group
Client: bupa
Client: C&C Group
Client: cadbury-schweppes
Client: calor
Client: capita-new
Client: catapult-logo
Client: Clipper
Client: communisis
Client: Conrad Energy
Client: croda
Client: DMC Mining
Client: Dunelm
Client: Duraline new
Client: englandgolf
Client: flybe
Client: Getech
Client: Guinness
Client: halfords
Client: hiscox
Client: horizon-nuclear-power
Client: HSBC
Client: infinis
Client: Interactive investor 2
Client: James Fisher Fendercare
Client: jet2
Client: Link
Client: mamas-papas
Client: manchester-airports-group
Client: marlborough
Client: marshalls
Client: maximus
Client: MBNA
Client: Mibelle
Client: morrisons
Client: oak furnitureland
Client: ofwat
Client: Orbia
Client: Persimmon
Client: Pets
Client: sage
Client: Sheffield Forgemasters
Client: sirius
Client: smartsearch
Client: sumo group
Client: tekmar
Client: Transunion
Client: tyco
Client: UKAR
Client: Unidays new
Client: United Utilities
Client: univar
Client: Vanquis Bank
Client: Volvo
Client: vw-financial-services
Client: Waters
Client: wyg
Client: Yorkshire Water
Client: freemans 2
Client: Froneri 2

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