In-House Counsel

The general counsel of HSBC Japan features in a profile in Asian-Counsel, e-edition March 2009 at 38. Michael Hancock, while practicing at Lovells and before joining HSBC, took a six-month secondment with Standard Chartered Bank. A few years later he took a second secondment, at Nishow Iwai (now Sojitz). Lengthy secondments in two major law departments gave Hancock a wealth of experience.

HSBC?s ?legal department strap line? (British for slogan or catch phrase) is ?Facilitating Business, Managing Legal Risk.? I endorse its clarity, brevity, and order.

Hancock makes a third point that all general counsel learn who parachute into the position: ?In large organizations, having a personal network or contracts through which to secure access to the right people and information when needed is crucial. I basically had to build this network from scratch.? Hancock dealt with one of the challenges that confronts every general counsel who has not been promoted from within.

?We operate a panel law firm approach, so that work can be outsourced to pre-approved firms who are familiar with our requirements, especially our desire to get good value for money ? which has heightened importance in the current climate.? The British penchant for law-firm panels.