From Olympian to General Counsel: Career Insights with Alex O’Connell

On this week's show our host, Scott Brown, was delighted to welcome Mary Pothos, one of the leading voices in the Privacy space. Mary has held Chief Privacy Officer roles in some of the largest tech companies. Mary shares her career trajectory, starting from her days in-house in the financial services sector at Visa, and they discuss how she accidently pivoted into privacy!The Privacy Legal landscape has shifted significantly over the last two decades, so they dive into some of these changes and consider what the next 10 years might look like, as well as how top companies are currently navigating the risk.Mary walks us through her 3 lessons—the 'three Cs': Calmness, Curiosity, and Courage. If you like understanding what it's like working in a fast paced constantly changing legal landscape, don't miss this one!

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law Scott invited Volker Weishar, the EMEA General Counsel for Sonos. They explore Volker's remarkable journey from studying economics and law in Germany, experiencing a brief stint in journalism, to his pivotal role at Sonos over the past 11 years. Volker shares three critical lessons he's learned throughout his career: the importance of a broad understanding of the business, the necessity of close collaboration within the legal function, and the value of staying curious and engaged beyond the traditional scope of legal work. They also discuss the challenges and strategies for leading a lean legal team in a dynamic industry, the benefits of being integrated into company leadership, and the significance of communication skills.Volker offers advice for aspiring lawyers, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and understanding modern business metrics and operations. This episode is a rich resource for in-house legal professionals aiming to navigate and succeed in their careers.

We return for another episode of Lessons I Learned in Law this week when Scott is joined by Leslie O'Callaghan, the Global Head of Legal at Adyen. Adyen was founded in Amsterdam in 2006 by a group of payments entrepreneurs. With Adyen they built a modern solution to displace the patchwork legacy systems that merchants were being forced to use through larger institutions!Adyen is without a doubt one of the most exciting Fintechs on the planet and one of the top international successes from the Netherlands in the last decade. Leslie recently relocated to Amsterdam from New York with Adyen to take on a Global Head of Legal role in their Headquarters. She joined Adyen in San Francisco in 2019 and has risen through the team to her current role. It's interesting to hear about how her background in a large Institutional Bank at Wells Fargo has translated to the fast-paced world of tech. The discussion delves into Leslie’s extensive career journey, highlighting her transition from a large banking institution to a leading fintech company, Adyen. Leslie shared her experiences navigating international moves from San Francisco to Amsterdam and working in different legal environments. Key lessons discussed include the importance of having flexible goals, the value of delivering 'done' work over perfect work and recognizing shared experiences across different professions. Leslie also provided practical advice for future-proofing one's legal career and emphasized the significance of work-life balance. This episode offers valuable insights and advice for in-house lawyers and legal professionals aiming for success in their careers.Not one to be missed!!

In this episode of 'Lessons I Learned in Law,' host Scott Brown talks with James Stebbing, who has held one of the coolest roles I can think of in law: General Counsel of Six Nations Rugby and the British and Irish Lions!   They discuss James' career journey and how he made plans to land his dream role in Sports Law.  They also discuss his early career shift from potential military service to law, which was spurred by personal circumstances.  His career journey includes roles at prestigious firms and corporations like Harbottle & Lewis, Vodafone, Barclays, and eventually dream roles with the RFU and Six Nations Rugby. There are some fantastic learnings on transitioning between different sectors, such as financial services to sports, and the importance of leveraging your background and enthusiasm in making such moves. James shares some fantastic lessons on importance of setting goals, continuously developing new skills and practically.... maintaining accurate records as a Lawyer!! Not one to be missed!!

On the show this week, Scott Brown is joined by Lucie Grant, Vice President and Global General Counsel at Dura-Line which is part of the Orbia Group. The story of Lucie is incredibly inspiring: from an intellectual property litigator to pivotal roles within giants like Thermo Fisher Scientific and BAE Systems.As Dura-Line's first female VP and General Counsel, Lucie  significantly contributed to the diversification of the company, having increased the number of women in the organisation from 13% to an impressive 30%.Lucie talks about the challenges and opportunities associated with remote working, especially in a global organisation like Dura-Line. We cover the importance of mentoring and taking advice from all spheres in a business to diversify your experience. Lucie is also a believer in putting family first and taking care of yourself before any professional commitment. Whether you're an in-house counsel now or a law student headed that way, Lucie's stories and advice may prove invaluable. Listen now and realign your view on legal leadership and career development.Follow Heriot Brown:Twitter | LinkedIn |  Facebook | Instagram

Buckle up for another episode of Lessons I Learned in Law! This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Alison Malin Zoellner, the Group General Counsel over at Dentsu Group, on of the largest global advertising firms. Alison's career path is nothing short of impressive. She started out at Sullivan & Cromwell, then transitioned to in-house roles at The New York Times and Honeywell. It's a testament to the kind of adaptability and reinvention that's key to thriving in today's legal landscape. Throughout the episode, she shares some seriously valuable lessons and the importance of staying connected within the legal field, the responsibility of being a company's ethical compass. We also spend some time discussing how young lawyers can leverage emerging technologies like AI to future-proof their careers. Alison also opens up about her personal journey, how she balances those professional ambitions with family life and encourages her team to do the same. Plus, we explore that crucial partnership between the General Counsels and CEOs – to foster ethical business growth. So, whether you're interested in the law, business, technology, or just getting some practical advice from someone who's been there and done that, this episode is for you.Follow Heriot Brown:Twitter | LinkedIn |  Facebook | Instagram

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, we mix things up a little and uncover the dark arts of Law Firm Recruitment as our host, Scott Brown, welcomes Tom Coode-Bate, the founder and director of Rock Legal, a specialist in private practice legal recruitment. Working as an In-House Lawyer is a different career to that of a Lawyer in a Law Firm.When Scott founded Heriot Brown, he consciously wanted to create a brand specialised and dedicated to the In-House legal profession. In this episode, Tom shares his journey from reluctant lawyer and eventually transitioning into recruitment. The discussion highlights Tom's current focus on the high-end London legal market, particularly U.S. firms and boutique work-life balance firms. They discuss the different approaches needed when recruiting lawyers in-house or into Law Firms and try to dispel some of the myths and stereotypes! Scott was actually surprised with the amount of common ground they found as our markets are very different.They discuss the need for building strong relationships and the significance of maintaining professionalism and creating positive experiences within the industry. Tom and Scott also shared insights into traits that drive long-term success for lawyers and the nuances of navigating candidate relationships in a competitive recruitment landscape.Follow Heriot Brown:Twitter | LinkedIn |  Facebook | Instagram

In this episode, our host, Scott Brown, sits down with Nicholas Cranfield, the Chief Legal Officer at Therme Group. Nick joined the business (a health and wellbeing company) at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic - we discuss the unique recruitment process and adjusting to a new role in such uncertain times. Nick also reflects on his previous roles at Dyson and Johnson Matthey and they discuss the importance of being open to unplanned opportunities as it’s led to exciting opportunities for him - including working in Asia with Johnson Matthey. Nick firmly believes in the value of curiosity and perspective in professional development and we discuss how he does this.  Not to be missed!Follow Heriot Brown:Twitter | LinkedIn |  Facebook | Instagram

How does a Legal career in the Seychelles or Mauritius sound? Awesome....On this week's show, I am joined by Phil Norah - General Counsel for the UK business of the Holcim Group, which is a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions and products. On top of delivering an ambitious M&A agenda, one of the key challenges for the Holcim Group is the decarbonisation of the cement industry, which is an existential threat. The Legal function is playing a pivotal role in that.Phil manages a multi-disciplinary team across legal, compliance, insurance and real estate and is a member of the Holcim European legal leadership team. Phil's career started out in the City with Freshfields but took him to the idyllic paradise of Mauritius, where he was Regional Head of Legal for Barclays. Hear Phil's approach and discussing global opportunities, the effort required to seize them, and the professional challenges that arise.It was great to hear these insights and this is a must listen to anyone who might hesitate on seizing the day and saying yes to opportunities.Follow Heriot Brown:Twitter | LinkedIn |  Facebook | Instagram

On this week's show, our host, Scott Brown, sits down with Alex O'Connell, General Counsel and Company Secretary at Fever-Tree. the global mixers and soft drinks business. What an apt guest / company for the wonderful British summertime!They discuss the pivotal years in Alex's career, which started as a corporate M&A lawyer at Freshfields in London and Singapore, before taking his first in-house role at AB InBev, the leading global brewer. He joined Fever-Tree in 2021 and discusses how he has applied some of the best practice learned at AB InBev into a smaller organisation. Alex shares valuable insights on management styles, the importance of caring for team members and being open to new ideas. We also hear of Alex's incredible time as an Olympian Fencer where he competed for Team GB at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing - what an experience!His favourite drink is a gin & Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic water, served with pink grapefruit - the Drink of Champions / Olympians!Follow Heriot Brown:Twitter | LinkedIn |  Facebook | Instagram