Rachel Hyland meets new Client Legal Director, Jon Green to find out why he's made the transition to becoming a TLD lawyer.
I caught up with Jon Green, a highly experienced corporate lawyer who has faced most legal issues during his career, to find out about his specialisms and what made him make the leap to TLD.
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Q&A with Jon Green
Jon, can you tell me about your specialisms?
I am not entirely sure that I have any specialisms! I have a wealth of corporate experience which has been largely focused on governance, compliance, M&A and commercial contracting. I was sole lawyer for most of the 18 years I worked at Essentra, working within a conglomerate with five different divisions operating in many different international markets with a variety of business models and I had to deal with anything and everything that came along. For instance, whilst maintaining those areas of focus, I was involved in managing major litigation, regulatory investigations and IP portfolios whilst advising on employment matters or the risks and opportunities associated with moving into potentially challenging markets with new and innovative products. I never knew what was going to come onto my radar next! In recent times, leading the Essentra response to the ESG challenge brought together many elements of my role and responsibilities.
If pressed, I would say I specialise in ‘getting the job done’, irrespective of the nature and extent of the challenge. Inevitably, managing lawyers and other advisers was a key part of the role at Essentra, but ultimately the buck stopped with me to make decisions regarding the appropriate identification, assessment and mitigation of risk across a very wide spectrum of issues, many of which did not appear in any legal textbook.
The effective management of all stakeholders from Board and Executive Committee level down through the management teams across all functions was an imperative to getting the job done in a manner which ensured the risk appetite was appropriately aligned with the commercial needs and helped facilitate the successful delivery of the strategic growth objectives.
My experience prior to Essentra reflects the same variety! Whilst I have typically advised on many of the same M&A and commercial contracting needs, there has been significant difference on the range of international markets and issues which I have been asked to advise on. Ranging from offshore supply chain arrangements within the clothing industry to negotiating oil and gas exploration rights, from approving TV scripts for popular consumer food brands to advising on competition law and corporate bond issues.
Perhaps my specialism is not being a specialist!
Wow, so it‘s evident there’s been enormous variety during your career. What work do you particularly enjoy?
I have always enjoyed the work surrounding M&A activity. Being able to successfully navigate through the ups and downs of any transaction – together with the exit, restructuring, separation, transition or integration planning – is always an interesting experience!
Similarly, I tend to enjoy those things which are not business-as-usual activities – sorting things out when something has gone wrong, working through a solution to a new or difficult problem, driving change and continuous improvement. Involvement in such work typically means significant engagement with the Board and the Executive Committee (and potentially other professional advisers, investors or lenders) and I have always enjoyed the debates around the various tables to find the best route forward. It is important to me to be able to extend my inputs beyond those which are confined strictly to the legal part of the conundrum and to help manage through the priorities for ensuring sustainable business practices based upon the right corporate culture.
In short, I like to get involved in things which add (or stop the destruction of) significant value and make a real difference.
You liaise with a lot of different people in your role. What attributes do you think your clients and colleagues value about you?
I think my down to earth, open and honest style works for most people. Plus, I am apparently calm and easy to work with – and reassuring whatever the circumstances!
My wide range of experience and constructive, commercial, business focussed approach gives them confidence that I can effectively and pragmatically manage them through whatever challenges they may be facing in a clear and prioritised manner. Clients want to know what they can do and how they can do it and they trust my legal and stakeholder management skills, integrity and judgment.
And is there any particular achievement in your career that you are most proud of?
I am not sure that I have ever thought of any particular parts of my career as being ‘achievements’ though certainly there have been more than a few memorable (sometimes quite remarkable!) moments.
Having begun my time at Essentra in 2005 working on the demerger from Bunzl, my final task was leading the project for the restructuring of the Group and the disposal of non-core divisions. This full-circle moment would rank highly for me.
However, I think most about the impact of a period of major financial instability in 2015/2016 and the importance of the role of Company Secretary & General Counsel in managing through such challenging times with the plc board and then playing a key role in the subsequent turnaround and transformation of the business as part of a new executive management team.
Why did you choose to work with TLD?
Having stepped down from Essentra in the middle of 2023 following completion of the major restructuring and disposal programme to leave just one core business, I was happy to have a break. However, much as I like riding my bike or playing golf, I knew that I would get bored doing nothing. I had no desire to return to another full-time executive role but wanted to find some part-time, flexible opportunities which would be stimulating and keep my brain engaged, but also allow me to directly manage my commitments and ensure the work/life balance was as I wanted it to be.
It is also important to me to be working with people sharing the same values and outlook on life. Right from the outset of my discussions with the team at TLD, I really enjoyed the conversations, and it was clear that the model and the ethos behind the business would be a good fit for me. Being able to manage my own business and clients to match my priorities but under the TLD umbrella with the support on offer and the opportunity to engage with, and benefit from, the experience of other like-minded lawyers in the firm, is a great mix for me. I left private practice to work in-house at Unilever immediately upon qualification. To return to a law firm 35 years later is not something I ever contemplated but TLD is not your typical law firm!
If you would like to know more about Jon Green and find out how he can support your business, connect with him on LinkedIn and find out more about his experience and specialisms from his team profile.
