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This business supplies a range of products from around the world for a large supermarket. One of the largest importers of produce in the UK, they also deal in beverages, flowers, protein and nuts.
In order to maintain cost-efficiency, this business controls the entire supply chain from sourcing and shipping to packing and delivery.
They are committed to embedding sustainable practices throughout their supply chain and to investing in environmental and social improvements in the countries where they source from.
The business’s legal work is managed by a small team that found itself dealing with an increase in the day-to-day work and a peak in project work. At the same time, there was a resourcing gap that increased the pressure on the already busy team.
The Head of Legal needed someone who could come in
very quickly, that was experienced enough to progress work independently and swiftly and who did not require a great deal of support or supervision.
The Head of Legal did not have time to recruit somebody on a permanent basis and was reluctant to engage an external law firm to plug the gap because of the level of support they would require getting them up to speed.
Luckily, Client Legal Director Dagmar Kibble had contacted a connection at the business asking if they needed any support, and he was able to put her in touch with the Head of Legal. Dagmar, a senior General Counsel with vast experience in all aspects of in-house legal work, was the perfect fit for the team. And The Legal Director’s service model enabled them to engage Dagmar within a week of speaking to her on a part-time basis for a short term to cover this peak period. “This was the ideal solution for us”, said the Head of Legal, “We didn’t know we could get such senior inhouse legal resource on such flexible terms.”
Dagmar came in and immediately started work on the general commercial contracts. She reviewed their standard purchasing terms, their product and services agreements, their logistics and waste contracts. She also checked the terms & conditions and privacy notice for a new website that was being launched.
Dagmar was also charged with doing a horizon scan of upcoming legal matters, updating the related document and reporting to the board.
Alongside this, Dagmar had responsibility for some project work, researching how the new EU Directive on Unfair Trading in Agricultural and Food Supply Chains impacted the business and changing all the terms & conditions in line with the new legislation. To support this, Dagmar prepared some training to be delivered to the finance and procurement teams to make them aware of the directive and its ramifications for the business.
Finally, Dagmar did some housekeeping – sorting out their precedents, filing them in a better way and indexing them to make them easier to access.
Dagmar’s business expertise was an enormous asset which gave the Head of Legal a lot of confidence: “Dagmar is just so commercial. She has got exactly the right attitude to risk. She doesn’t spend hours and hours on a contract if it’s not necessary. And she flags something quickly if there is a potential problem. She is like an extension of our team – this is really very different to anything we’ve had before.”
As a senior and experienced in-house lawyer, Dagmar got up to speed very quickly and was happy to liaise directly with everyone speed very quickly and was happy to liaise directly with everyone in the business from the board down. Dealing directly with the relevant people to get the necessary work done enabled the other people in the legal team to concentrate on their own work rather than spend time supporting or training Dagmar.
The flexibility of the resource was another great benefit. Dagmar was initially engaged for a month, but this was extended to three months as they were still under considerable pressure. “Dagmar was a lifesaver for us,” says the Head of Legal, “I wouldn’t hesitate to bring her back if we’re experiencing a peak in work again.”
The Legal Director is a fully regulated legal consultancy that provides businesses with high calibre, senior lawyers on a part-time retained basis.
Our Client Legal Directors can come in at very short notice to support legal teams during busy times or for discrete projects. They all have considerable in-house experience so are more adept at supporting business than private practice lawyers and can come in and hit the ground running.
And with flexible engagement arrangements possible, you can access this resource for exactly the time you need without going through the hassle of traditional recruitment.
Call us on 020 3056 8538,
Email us at info@thelegaldirector.co.uk
or send us an enquiry.
Address:
Blackwell House, Guildhall Yard, London, EC2V 5AE.
Tel : 020 3056 8538
Email: info@thelegaldirector.co.uk
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Registered in England and Wales with number 7573474. Registered office Blackwell House, Guildhall Yard, London, EC2V 5AE.
