The General Counsel Revolution

The General Counsel Revolution is the subtitle of The Future of the In-house Lawyer: The General Counsel Revolution, edited by Richard Tapp and published earlier this year by the Law Society in London. This book’s significance lies in its timing, breadth of coverage and demonstration of the now indisputable, permanent power of in-house lawyers in the legal services supply chain.

I first met Richard at an invitation-only conference for a group of British general counsel some years ago. Along with Bruce MacEwen and Richard Susskind, I was part of the faculty who spent an engaging two days as the guests of Alastair Morrison and his partners at Pinsent Masons, the organisers.

Richard Tapp’s leadership as a thoughtful and experienced in-house lawyer stood out in a luminary crowd at the conference, so I wasn’t surprised to find he had led and edited is first what is a notable first in The Future of the In-house Lawyer: The General Counsel Revolution.

Scope of The General Counsel Revolution

The General Counsel Revolution is a collection of essays by in-house counsel from a range of different types of organisations, covering:

• Strategy and change in organisations
• Supporting the businesses GCs serve
• Legal and ethical challenges
• Managing change and transition
• The future of the legal market for in-house roles
• Sourcing the skills GCs need.

The contributors work as GCs in the UK’s 100 companies, local government, charities and universities and others are distinguished academics and consultants.

Caught my attention

Given of my interests, unsurprisingly three chapters caught my attention.

The general counsel revolution, also the subtitle of the book, is written by Richard Tapp himself.
Professor Stephen Mayson‘s chapter on The future legal market and the role of in-house lawyers point and The revolution in legal (re)sourcing by Robin Saphra, former general counsel of Colt Group, combine to paint a compelling vision of the future of the place and modus operandi of in-house lawyers.

For BigLaw firm partners and practising in-house lawyers, the book provides insights and guidance not available in any other accessible place.

The Future of the In-house Lawyer: The General Counsel Revolution is a worthy complement to Inside Revolution: Resolving the Partner-Guardian Tension by Ben Heineman, the legendary GC of GE. 

Editor

Richard Tapp is a chartered secretary and a solicitor.

He has worked at the National Coal Board, Imperial Foods, Blue Circle Industries plc and is now Director of Legal Services at Carillion plc.