Michael Page/ Squire Patton Boggs in-house lawyer seminar June 2015

On Thursday 25th June in Manchester, Michael Page Legal and Squire Patton Boggs held the last of a series of in-house lawyer seminars, with previous seminars being held in Birmingham and Leeds. Held at the offices of Squire Patton Boggs, we used this as an opportunity to invite in-house lawyers from various areas to events where they can network and receive updates on areas of law that are key to their roles.

Arranged by our in-house recruiters; Susan McNulty in the North and Adele Somers in the Midlands, Squire Patton Boggs delivered a series of topical updates before finishing with a spectacular presentation on speaking with confidence and influence. 

The seminar comprised the following sessions:

Luc Salmon – Director of Michael Page Legal – Update on the key trends within the legal recruitment sector and in particular the battle for talent, rising salaries and the need to put the retention of employees at the top of any agenda. 

Paula Cole – Partner at Squire Patton Boggs - Labour and Employment – Key employment law developments including developments in the calculation of holiday pay and the development of the law around maternity and paternity leave. 

Diarmuid Ryan – Partner at Squire Patton Boggs - Update on competition law with a particular focus on the working of the competition and markets authority; what not to do and the costs of getting it wrong.

Ben Holland - Partner at Squire Patton Boggs - Interpreting and drafting contracts in English law: keeping up with the modern approach - This section took a fascinating look at how the approach to interpreting contracts has changed over the years and gave a great summary of the drafting points to avoid in the future.

A key focus of seminar was cyber liability and a specific look at what cyber liability is, what the commercial risks are and who is at risk of cyber crime.  What are the business costs of getting it wrong? We were lucky enough to be joined by a cyber specialist from KPMG, Sebastiaan Pronk, who partnered with Victoria Leigh, partner at Squire Patton Boggs. Of particular interest to all the delegates were the checklists; ‘How safe is your data’ and ‘10 Things NOT to do’.

The event finished with a surge of energy and a promise from Esther Stanhope, Ex-BBC “live” that she could make the audience of 35+ in-house lawyers better at speaking with confidence and influence in 29 minutes. Having worked with Boris Johnson, George Clooney and David Cameron in her previous career, she brought this experience to bear and had the room confidently pitching ideas to each other with enthusiasm, energy and skill.

We would like to thank Squire Patton Boggs and all the presenters for making it one of the best, most interesting in-house lawyer seminars we have been to.

Michael Page Legal runs events across the country for in-house lawyers. The main aim is to give lawyers a chance to network together but also to use our connections to provide lawyers with the information to help them be successful in their roles and their careers. If you would like to get involved, please contact your local Michael Page Legal office.