Taking a look inside the career of an in-house lawyer with Adam Hirschovits!Tune in to the latest episode of the Insight In-house Legal podcast where Ben White sits down to chat with with Adam Hirschovits, Senior Commercial and Legal Director at The Roald Dahl Story Company.Adam and Ben dive into exploring Adam’s career journey so far. Discussing the opportunities and challenges of being a sole in-house lawyer, navigating the recent acquisition by Netflix, and the intricacies of managing inte...

In this special bonus episode of The Crafty Show, we’ve pulled together some of the words of wisdom our various in-house lawyer interviewees shared during our conversations. We asked them whether there was any advice they had been given that they still use to this day, and we received a range of fascinating (and, of course, helpful!) insights.So, whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned in-house counsel, this episode is packed with relatable stories and actionable advice to help you...

James Smither, co-founder of the Neurodiversity Network, sits down with in-house lawyer Connagh McCormick, and private practice lawyer Jessie Smith to discuss the importance of understanding and embracing neurodiversity in the legal field.During their conversation, they share personal experiences and perspectives, highlighting the need for organisations to support neurodiverse individuals.They also emphasise the various ways lawyers can take small steps to break the stigma often associated wi...

Lee Castleton purchased a Post Office in Bridlington, Yorkshire, in 2003. When the Post Office management discovered a loss of £25,000 in the computer system, they blamed Lee, who argued that the Horizon IT system was at fault. The Post Office sued him, won the case, and pursued legal costs amounting to £321,000, which led to Lee's bankruptcy. To this day, he is still awaiting compensation.Lee graciously shared his story at Crafty Fest 2024 in a fireside chat with Ben White, founder of Crafty...

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Lucie Cruz, Content Producer at Crafty Counsel, is joined by Harriet Dedman, Counsel at Tiny, journalist, photographer, and filmmaker.Beginning her career at Hogan Lovells in 2008, Harriet spent a decade exploring various legal roles. In 2014, she transitioned into freelance journalism and filmmaking while continuing her corporate law work.In 2015, she left corporate law to cover the European refugee crisis in Greece as a freelancer. Her talent eventually s...

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel, sits down with Karl Wilson, a seasoned lawyer turned legal consultant with over two decades of experience and, since 2015, also a professional actor.During the course of their conversation, Karl speaks candidly about the significant upsides as well as the hurdles he's encountered while juggling both legal consultancy and acting. He offers valuable insights and guidance for fellow in-house lawyers looking to pursue inter...

In this episode, Lucie Cruz, Content Producer at Crafty Counsel, is joined by Richard Barnett, General Counsel at The National Gallery. Responsible for advising The Gallery on all regulatory and commercial matters, Richard has played a crucial role in facilitating the acquisition of Thomas Lawrence’s “Red Boy” through a private treaty sale, as well as procuring works by Veronese, Pissarro, Poussin, and others. In this episode, Richard opens up about the considerations and negotiations...

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Toby Hornett, Head of Community at Crafty Counsel, sits down with Mel Nebhrajani CB, Director General for Litigation with Justice and Security at GLD. Mel, who previously served as Legal Director at the Department for Health and Social Care, led the department's legal response to the pandemic while also navigating EU Exit challenges. She is now Director General for Litigation with Justice and Security at GLD In this episode, Mel shares insights from her...

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel, speaks with Natalie Salunke, an experienced GC from the Tech and other sectors who recently started her practice as a Fractional General Counsel, and Shrina Shah, formerly the Group General Counsel & Company Secretary at Puregym.  In addition to their roles as in-house counsel, Natalie and Shrina have both taken on the additional responsibility of serving as Trustees. Shrina ventured into her first Trustee role in...

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel, speaks with Shika Soni, Assistant General Counsel at Principal Asset Management. Before joining Principal, Shika worked as Senior Legal Counsel at Royal London Asset Management. She also spent time in New York on secondment from Orchard Solicitors, where she passed the NY Bar exams and became admitted in New York State. Alongside her career, Shika serves as a mentor to a large number of lawyers and aspiring...

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White, sits down with Fintech Day 2023 speaker Chrissy Hill (General Counsel at Parity Technologies).  Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Chrissy discusses her move to the UK in 2002. She shares her journey from Linklaters to Barclays and then recounts her nearly decade-long experience working with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, where she provided operational, legal, and regulatory guidance. Currently...

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel, speaks with Stephanie-Kate Bratton, General Counsel at AgriFutures, Australia. Stephanie's journey as a lawyer began in Sydney, Australia, where she worked as a lawyer at Clayton Utz and stayed for several years, honing her legal skills. However, her story took a fascinating turn in 2016 when she decided to transition from private practice to in-house lawyering. She relocated across the globe to join Amazon in...

In this episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Ben White, founder of Crafty Counsel sits down with Simon Duffield, Lead, Legal - COVAX, at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.  Simon shares his professional journey, which began with a career in London as a trainee at Linklaters, where he stayed for over 11 years. In 2019, he then made the move to Switzerland and in-house to join Verisure as Group Corporate & Transactions Counsel. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Simon joined Gavi to support...

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White sits down with one of our Fintech Day speakers, Kate Luton (Senior Counsel at Motive Partners). Kate shares her journey from private practice to in-house roles in the legal tech and fintech industries, shedding light on the unique challenges and opportunities she's encountered along the way. Kate's experience working with startups and established law firms has given her a fresh perspective on the legal...

The Crafty Show is back! Launching season 4 with this special episode featuring the awesome keynote that Andy Cooke, General Counsel at TravelPerk, delivered at Crafty Fest in June 2023. Andy takes us on a journey - delving into the headwinds facing the legal industry today, addressing issues such as changing client demands, evolving knowledge consumption patterns, and the crucial role of trust in the profession. He also discusses the impact of AI technology on the legal landscape and how...

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel’s Founder, Ben White sits down with Leisa Turner,  General Counsel - Eurasia at Komatsu Mining Corp. Leisa takes us through her career journey which saw her starting her career at Blake Dawson in Australia before making the jump in-house to a mining company, Joy Global Inc. From there, Leisa then took another leap as she moved to the UK to become Joy Global’s first General Counsel for Eurasia and build the legal function for...

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel’s Founder, Ben White sits down with Rhian Ravenscroft, Head of Legal EMEA at MarketAxess. Rhian talks us through her career journey so far which included a later start to her legal career and then making the move in-house at only one year PQE. In 2018, Rhian also moved to Amsterdam with MarketAxess to establish their European office post-Brexit. This conversation also explores Rhian's passions for mentoring and cycling. Within...

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White sits down with Sofia Gohir, a senior in-house lawyer. Sofia talks us through her varied career journey. From starting as a paralegal in London during the financial crash, to making the jump and working in legal operations for Coca-Cola in Dubai.  Sofia also shares her experience of moving back to the UK after many years in Dubai and the differences between the two. Subscribe to The Crafty Show wherever...

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White sits down with Richard Given, Group General Counsel at OpenPayd. Richard talks us through his varied in-house legal career which started with Cisco Systems and HSBC. After five years with HSBC, Richard then made the jump to Fintech startup world with 10x Banking before his current role as Group General Counsel with OpenPayd. Alongside his busy legal career, Richard also used to play rugby for Sarcaens and...

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, Crafty Counsel's Founder, Ben White sits down with Laura Jeffords Greenberg, Interim General Counsel at Worksome based in Denmark.  Laura talks us through  her incredible career journey in this episode. From starting out at the National Football League in New York and a brief stint in private practice in LA, to moving in-house once more, but across the world this time to Red Bull Media House in Austria. With such a variety of in-house legal...

In the latest episode of The Crafty Show podcast, we delve into the world of Jordan Breslow, a seasoned former General Counsel whose expert advice and timely intervention saved his CEO from potential jail time.  Jordan talks to us about his experience working in California’s flowering ecosystem of innovation and tech in the past decades. This conversation takes a focused look at Jordan’s time with Opsware and the role he played in preventing his CEO and one of the most important venture...

In this episode of The Crafty Show, Ben White (Founder & CEO at Crafty Counsel) is joined by two guests - Sharon Harris, an experienced General Counsel turned Executive, and Alexandra Badel, Head of Legal for Morgan Sindall Infrastructure. During their time together at Costain,  Alex and Sharon did something unusual by actually sharing the role of General Counsel. This conversation explores this experience and what in-house legal professionals can learn from it.  Look at everything from...

In this last episode of Season Two of The Crafty Show, we pulled together some of the nuggets of wisdom our interviewees shared with us. We asked whether there was any advice they had been given that they use…. We spoke to several lawyers with fascinating career stories. We spoke to a former Olympic fencer and learned that no matter how successful you are, even the best lawyers can suffer from imposter syndrome.  Explored how dyslexic thinking can be a great strength for a lawyer and can...

In this episode of the Crafty Show, Renée Graham, the Head of Content at Crafty Counsel is joined by Emma Haywood, Associate General Counsel at Babylon, an international digital healthcare company.  Before joining Babylon’s in-house team in April 2021, Emma worked at the Magic Circle firm Slaughter and May for eight years.  Emma graduated with a first-class degree in Modern and Medieval languages from the University of Cambridge.  Emma is a mentor with The Social Mobility Foundation and leads...