Q1 2026
By Josh Hall
Introduction
Q1 2026 recorded 242 senior in-house legal moves and promotions across the UK, a clear recovery from the 159 recorded in Q4 2025, and broadly in line with Q1 2025 (267). The quarter opened with activity consistent with historical norms: a release of pent-up demand following the seasonal year-end slowdown, combined with organisations progressing searches deferred from the prior year. The overall picture is one of a market returning to a steady operational tempo, without the elevated volumes that characterised post-pandemic periods.
The mix of moves and promotions in Q1 2026 was notably balanced. Of the 242 recorded, 125 were lateral moves and 117 were internal promotions, a near-even split that contrasts with more skewed quarters seen in recent periods. This balance suggests organisations are drawing from both internal and external talent pools at similar rates, and that headcount approval for external hires has stabilised.
Moves from private practice totalled 14 in Q1 2026, up from five in Q4 2025 and above the nine seen in Q1 2025. While still a small proportion of overall activity, approximately 6%, this uptick may reflect modest easing in the barrier between private practice and senior in-house roles. The data continues to confirm, however, that the large majority of senior hires are already experienced in-house lawyers.
Quarterly activity summary
| Quarter | Total | Lateral Moves | Promotions | From Private Practice |
| Q1 2025 | 267 | 127 | 141 | 9 |
| Q2 2025 | 217 | 182 | 35 | 23 |
| Q3 2025 | 259 | 115 | 148 | 18 |
| Q4 2025 | 159 | 83 | 76 | 5 |
| Q1 2026 | 242 | 125 | 117 | 14 |
General market overview
The UK in-house legal recruitment market enters 2026 on a more settled footing than in recent years. After a post-pandemic demand spike, inflationary salary pressures, and cautious hiring through much of 2024 and 2025, early 2026 signals a return to more measured decision-making. Organisations are hiring again, but selectively- prioritising commercial impact, regulatory expertise, and increasing comfort with AI-assisted legal workflows.
The theme of breadth continues to define the in-house landscape. Senior lawyers are being asked to operate further across the business than traditional advisory mandates would suggest, contributing to M&A processes, governance structures, and strategic risk management. This is shaping both the profile of candidates being sought and the type of roles being created at General Counsel and Legal Director level.
Salary remains a tension point, particularly at junior to mid-level, where private practice pay continues to outpace in-house equivalents. At senior level, the gap has narrowed in certain sectors- notably financial services, fintech, and high-growth technology businesses. Culture, flexibility, and the scope to exercise genuine commercial influence are reported as meaningful factors in candidates’ decision-making alongside compensation.
The adoption of AI tooling within in-house legal teams has continued to accelerate. Platforms such as Harvey, Legora, and Copilot are increasingly embedded in day-to-day legal operations, automating contract review and helping teams surface risk more efficiently. This shift is gradually changing the composition of senior legal roles, moving emphasis from execution toward advisory and strategic work. Some organisations are reassessing headcount requirements as automation absorbs a greater share of routine workload.
The broader economic backdrop has added complexity. US tariff policy and global trade uncertainty prompted several businesses in Q1 to defer senior legal appointments in favour of interim or fractional arrangements while awaiting clearer conditions. This likely moderated Q1 volumes somewhat and is worth monitoring through the remainder of the year.
Moves and promotions
The split between moves (125) and promotions (117) in Q1 2026 is the most balanced recorded in the dataset. Historically, certain quarters have skewed materially toward one category, Q2 2025 saw 182 moves against only 35 promotions, while Q3 2025 reversed that pattern with 148 promotions to 115 moves. The Q1 2026 balance may reflect organisations simultaneously advancing internal succession rounds that had been delayed, while reopening externally-facing searches that were paused in Q4 2025.
Internal promotion activity in Q1 remains robust, indicating continued investment in succession planning at senior level. At the same time, the volume of lateral moves, closely matching Q1 2025 at 125 versus 127, suggests the external hiring market is functioning at a stable baseline. There is no evidence of unusual acceleration in churn or a marked increase in willingness among senior lawyers to move organisations.
Sector analysis
Q1 2026 sector data shows clear points of growth, consolidation, and decline relative to both Q4 2025 and Q1 2025. The table below sets out recorded activity by sector across the three most relevant comparable periods, with quarter-on-quarter change from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026.
Financial Services
Financial services was the joint most active sector in Q1 2026 alongside technology, recording 37 moves and promotions. This is a significant step up from 20 in Q4 2025, and narrowly below the 49 recorded in Q1 2025- itself an unusually elevated quarter. The sector appears to have moved through a period of consolidation and is now actively investing in senior legal capability again. Promotion activity within large financial institutions was also prominent this quarter.
Technology
Technology recorded 34 moves and promotions in Q1 2026, continuing its recovery after a low of 16 in Q4 2025. The sector’s legal function continues to expand in response to data regulation, AI governance, IP complexity, and commercial contracting demands at scale. Demand for senior lawyers with privacy, product, and commercial law backgrounds remains pronounced. A number of Q1 appointments carried an explicit mandate to lead on legal technology implementation alongside conventional legal responsibilities, reflecting how central AI tooling has become to in-house legal team planning.
Consumer Goods, Retail & FMCG
Consumer Goods, Retail, and FMCG saw 24 moves and promotions in Q1 2026 – the sector’s highest recorded quarter in the dataset. Activity has built steadily since Q1 2025 (18), reflecting ongoing M&A consolidation in FMCG, supply chain complexity, and the legal demands generated by the growth of direct-to-consumer and e-commerce models. Traditional retail continues to face structural headwinds, but digitally-oriented businesses within the sector are sustaining consistent legal hiring demand.
Biotechnology, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals
Seventeen moves and promotions were recorded in biotech, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals in Q1 2026, up from nine in Q4 2025. The sector benefits from a sustained pipeline of regulatory, commercial, and compliance-focused roles. NHS reform and evolving MHRA frameworks continue to create demand for senior lawyers with regulatory experience across both the public and private healthcare settings. The sector has shown unusual consistency across the dataset, rarely falling below double digits in any given quarter.
Construction, Engineering and Real Estate
Construction, engineering, and real estate also recorded 17 moves and promotions in Q1 2026, returning to Q1 2025 levels (14) after a quieter Q4. Infrastructure activity, public procurement reform, and ESG-driven project complexity are sustaining demand for senior legal hires. Several appointments this quarter reflect continued investment in general counsel-level roles within mid-size contractors and real estate investors- an indication that these organisations are developing their in-house legal functions rather than defaulting to external counsel for strategic matters.
Energy, Sustainability and Utilities
Energy, sustainability, and utilities recorded 17 appointments in Q1 2026, slightly below the sector’s Q1 2025 figure of 23. Hiring continues to be driven by the energy transition, with renewables, hydrogen, and carbon markets generating legal complexity. The sector’s activity profile remains episodic -shaped by project timelines and transaction cycles rather than continuous headcount expansion. Promotion activity within existing legal teams was also notable this quarter.
Investment, VC and PE
Investment, VC, and PE saw 14 moves and promotions in Q1 2026, a meaningful recovery from the six recorded in Q4 2025. The sector had shown a declining trend through 2025, reflecting the impact of higher interest rates and a more selective deal environment on legal team investment. Early Q1 signs suggest that as transaction volumes gradually recover- particularly in fund finance and secondaries – appetite for senior in-house legal appointments is following.
Invsurance
Insurance recorded 14 moves and promotions in Q1 2026, up from eight in Q4 2025. The sector has been consistently active, with regulatory complexity around cyber risk, climate-related liability, and ongoing FCA conduct scrutiny continuing to underpin demand. General Counsel and Head of Legal appointments feature prominently, consistent with organisations reinforcing senior legal leadership rather than building team depth at this stage.
Fintech
Fintech recorded 13 moves and promotions in Q1 2026, recovering from seven in Q4 2025. After a notably quiet 2025- particularly Q1 2025 (4) – the sector appears to be settling at a more stable level of senior legal activity. Payments regulation, open banking developments, and the evolving UK cryptoassets framework are generating in-house demand. Compliance-legal hybrid appointments remained a recurring theme throughout the quarter.
Infrastructure, Logistics and Transportation
Infrastructure, logistics, and transportation returned 10 moves and promotions in Q1 2026- the sector’s highest quarter since Q3 2025 and a clear improvement on the very low Q4 2025 figure of three. Supply chain reconfiguration in response to global trade shifts has driven several appointments, with businesses bringing legal expertise in-house to manage the contractual and regulatory complexity of cross-border operations.
Entertainment, Media, Sport and Gaming
Entertainment, media, sport, and gaming recorded 16 moves and promotions in Q1 2026, a slight dip from 18 in Q4 2025. The sector has been consistently active at this level across the dataset, benefiting from ongoing IP, commercial, and regulatory complexity in digital content, sports rights, and gaming. Several organisations made Legal Director or Head of Legal appointments this quarter, reflecting a continued pattern of professionalising in-house legal capacity.
Hospitality and Travel
Hospitality and travel recorded six moves and promotions in Q1 2026, a noticeable step up from the very low volumes seen across 2025. While the sector remains a smaller contributor to overall activity, the Q1 figure may reflect renewed confidence as consumer demand stabilises and businesses look to strengthen legal oversight of regulatory compliance, franchising, and international expansion.
Consultancy and Professional Services
Consultancy and professional services recorded eight moves and promotions in Q1 2026, broadly stable relative to recent quarters. Activity in this sector tends to be driven by individual leadership transitions at GC level rather than team-wide expansion. The growing use of secondees and interim legal support continues to reduce pressure on permanent headcount growth.
Charity and Social Enterprise
Charity and social enterprise recorded five moves and promotions in Q1 2026, down from eight in Q4 2025. The sector showed relatively strong activity in the second half of 2025, likely driven by governance and compliance pressures in several larger organisations. Q1 activity returns to the low but stable levels seen historically, with hiring typically driven by individual leadership changes rather than structural growth.
Manufacturing, Mining and Government
Manufacturing, mining, and services recorded only one move in Q1 2026 – a sharp drop from 16 in Q1 2025. This may be partly cyclical and partly reflective of M&A activity having moved through an active phase. Government and regulator appointments also fell to one, compared with eight in Q1 2025, as public sector legal functions continue to face budget constraints that limit senior external hiring. Both sectors warrant monitoring in Q2 to determine whether Q1 represents an anomaly or a more sustained softening.
Aviation, Aerospace and Defence
Aviation, aerospace, and defence appears as a distinct sector for the first time in Q1 2026, with two recorded moves. This reflects both greater granularity in data capture and genuine growth in senior in-house appointments, as UK defence spending commitments increase and commercial aviation continues its post-pandemic legal and contractual build-out. This sector is likely to become a more regular contributor to the data as activity develops.
Outlook
Q1 2026 provides a stable foundation for the year ahead. The recovery from Q4 2025’s low, the balanced split between moves and promotions, and the uptick in moves from private practice all point to a market operating at a steady and predictable level. Financial services, technology, consumer goods, and healthcare are well-positioned to sustain or increase activity through Q2. Energy and infrastructure will remain active but episodic. Sectors with very low Q1 volumes – manufacturing, government, and education- will require further data before conclusions can be drawn.
The wider context global trade uncertainty, accelerating AI adoption within legal teams, and continuing salary pressure at junior and mid-levels – will continue to shape senior hiring behaviour. Organisations that have held searches in interim or fractional arrangements may begin converting these to permanent hires as economic conditions stabilise. If that pattern holds, Q2 2026 may see a further step-up in lateral move volumes. The market’s appetite for senior legal talent with regulatory specialism, commercial breadth, and technology fluency shows no signs of diminishing.
Data reflects senior in-house legal moves and promotions tracked across the UK market during Q1 2026 (January–March). Figures include General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer, Legal Director, Head of Legal, and equivalent senior roles. Moves from private practice are identified separately where the individual’s preceding role was at a law firm. Sector classifications follow Market Moves methodology.
Aviation, Aerospace and Defence
Alex Thatcher has been promoted to Regional General Counsel, Europe & Africa at GE Aerospace from their previous role as General Counsel.
Paul Woodman has been promoted to Chief Counsel for UK, Europe and the Middle East at Lockheed Martin from their previous role as General Counsel.
Biotechnology, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals
Adam Parkins has been appointed to Group General Counsel & Company Secretary at Dental Directory from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel & Legal Operations Lead at Westbury Street Holdings.
Alison Coburn has been promoted to Head of Legal & Compliance, AVP at HealthTrust Europe LLP from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Annabelle Newman has been appointed to General Counsel at Sciensus from their previous role as General Counsel at Velsera .
Antonio Suarez-Martinez has been promoted to Head of Legal, Commercial, Europe & International at ViiV Healthcare from their previous role as Assistant General Counsel.
Ben Millson has been promoted to Assistant General Counsel – Business Development and Corporate at GSK from their previous role as Senior Counsel.
Bobby Sarkodee-Adoo has been appointed to Head of Employment Legal at Isomorphic Labs from their previous role as Senior Associate at Baker McKenzie .
Dr. Paul Conroy has been promoted to General Counsel at Our Future Health UK from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Duha Fayyad has been promoted to General Counsel- Europe at Hikma Pharmaceuticals from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Ian McKie has been appointed to Head of Legal at Radar Healthcare from their previous role as Legal Director at Bevan Brittan LLP.
James Mound has been promoted to Associate General Counsel at Abcam from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
Jessica Calvert has been appointed to Head of Legal Services at Circle Health Group from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Synnovis.
Kevin Shreeve has been appointed to Head of Legal at Wellcome Genome Campus from their previous role as Legal Director at Addleshaw Goddard.
Lindsay Ashton Martin has been appointed to Chief Compliance Counsel at Genus PLC from their previous role as Head of Compliance at Sinclair Pharma.
Matthew Owens has been appointed to General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at LifeArc from their previous role as General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer at COMPASS Pathways.
Mehdi Erfan has been appointed to General Counsel at Circle Health Group from their previous role as General Counsel and Group Company Secretary at Ramsay Health Care.
Richard Cullen has been promoted to Country Legal Head, UK and Ireland at Novartis from their previous role as Head Legal Customer & Market Activation and Legal Lead Value .
Tom Henderson Silva has been promoted to General Counsel, UK at Voy from their previous role as Head of Legal & DPO.
Charity and Social Enterprise
Jessica Shaffrey has been promoted to General Counsel – UK & Commercial at CDP from their previous role as Legal Director, Commercial.
Kate Cordery has been appointed to Head of Legal at The Royal Society from their previous role as Legal Counsel at Save the Children UK.
Khizar Arif has been promoted to General Counsel at Blockchain & Climate Institute from their previous role as Principal Legal Advisor.
Mun-Ling Logue has been appointed to Head of Legal and Governance at Action Against Hunger UK from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at WWF-UK.
Robert Saunders has been appointed to Legal Director – Product & Regulatory Affairs at Omaze from their previous role as Senior Legal Consultant at Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Construction, Engineering and Real Estate
Alistair Cutts has been promoted to General Counsel at Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture from their previous role as Senior Lawyer.
Anna Cope has been appointed to VP & Assistant General Counsel Compliance & Corporate at Sirva from their previous role as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at CWT.
Anthony Geraghty has been appointed to General Counsel at HBK – Hottinger Brüel & Kjær from their previous role as Chief Counsel at Spectris.
Dermott Agnew has been promoted to Group Legal Director and Company Secretary at Lagan Specialist Holdings from their previous role as Head of Legal / Group Company Secretary.
Dhanesh Ahir has been appointed to Head of Legal at BluePine Living Ltd from their previous role as Managing Associate at Addleshaw Goddard.
Ewan Powrie has been appointed to General Counsel – IP, Ventures and Legal Operations at THERME GROUP from their previous role as General Counsel at Dyson Beauty at Dyson.
James Wall has been promoted to General Counsel (Social Infrastructure and Corporate Finance) at THERME GROUP from their previous role as Deputy General Counsel.
Jessica Robinson has been promoted to Head of Legal at Travis Perkins plc from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
Jilly Lawrence has been appointed to Associate General Counsel UK Construction Services at Balfour Beatty plc from their previous role as Global Business Area Legal Director at Arcadis.
Katie Somerville has been promoted to General Counsel at Vita Group from their previous role as Assistant General Counsel.
Keeley Chesworth has been appointed to General Counsel at Cascade Infrastructure Limited from their previous role as General Counsel at Skanska.
Louise Forbes has been promoted to Head of Legal -Construction and Interiors at Willmott Dixon from their previous role as Legal Counsel .
Marcel Marquardt has been promoted to Head of Legal – Strategic Programmes, Nuclear and Intellectual Property at Laing O’Rourke from their previous role as Legal leader.
Michelle Nourse has been promoted to Head of Legal at Santander Consumer (UK) plc from their previous role as Commercial Legal Counsel.
Ruth Carins-Shaw has been promoted to Head of Legal – EKFB at Kier Group from their previous role as Senior Solicitor.
Sharenjit Kaur has been appointed to Head of Legal, Housing Management at Sage Homes from their previous role as Head of Legal Services at Metropolitan.
Will Painter has been appointed to Head of Legal at Hammerson from their previous role as Head of Legal at Close Brothers.
Consultancy and Professional Services
Daniel Fraser has been promoted to Global Head of Legal, Product at YouGov from their previous role as Head of Legal, Lead Commercial Lawyer.
Ellen Keenan-O’Malley has been appointed to Senior General Counsel – Intellectual Property at Worley from their previous role as Senior Associate at EIP.
Hannah Thompson has been promoted to Assistant General Counsel at FTI Consulting from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
María Dolores (Lola) Colomer Jiménez-Blanco has been promoted to EMEA Assistant General Counsel at FTI Consulting from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
Matthew Davey has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel (Europe) at The Brattle Group from their previous role as Assistant General Counsel (Europe).
Misha Khan has been appointed to Associate General Counsel at KPMG from their previous role as Legal Director – Corporate at Ryan .
Natasha Roye has been promoted to Assistant General Counsel at McKinsey & Company from their previous role as Senior Contracts Counsel .
Sharon Evans has been appointed to Chief Legal Officer at WTS UK from their previous role as Chief Legal Officer at TotallyMoney.
Consumer Goods, Retail & FMCG
Amy Franklin has been appointed to Legal Director (UK) at Quince from their previous role as General Counsel at JW Anderson.
Anna Hudson has been appointed to Head of Property Legal UK & Europe at JD Sports Fashion from their previous role as Senior Real Estate Lawyer at Asda .
Carol Wilkinson has been promoted to General Counsel at Jellycat from their previous role as Global Legal Director.
Carolyn Montgomery has been appointed to Group Legal Director – Corporate at Kingfisher plc from their previous role as Deputy General Counsel at Petrofac.
Cathryn McAndrew has been promoted to Head of Legal UKI ANZ at Vestacy from their previous role as Head of Legal.
Caylie Monks has been promoted to General Counsel at Manolo Blahnik from their previous role as Head of Legal.
Claudia van Tooren has been promoted to Head of Legal – Commerce & Privacy at Heineken UK Limited from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
Erina Kourtis has been appointed to General Counsel at Signature Flatbreads from their previous role as Senior Property Counsel at J D Wetherspoon.
Gemma Foale Robinson has been promoted to General Counsel – Global Litigation at Unilever from their previous role as Associate General Counsel Global Litigation.
Jamie Kelly has been appointed to Head of Legal at Yeo Valley Production Ltd from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at KFC UK & Ireland .
Jenny Crossan has been promoted to Legal Director at KFC UK & Ireland from their previous role as Head of Legal – Corporate and Franchising.
Joanne Glaze has been appointed to Deputy General Counsel at Holland & Barrett from their previous role as Interim Lawyer at London EV Company.
Kulpash Patel has been promoted to Assistant General Counsel, Europe at Philip Morris International from their previous role as Legal Director, UK and RoI.
Louise Furlonge has been promoted to General Counsel – Commercial, Marketing and Legal Operations at Diageo from their previous role as Legal Strategy Director and Senior Counsel .
Lovanya Moodley has been promoted to General Counsel : Employment – Business Operations at Unilever from their previous role as Senior Employment Counsel.
Lucy Barron has been appointed to Legal Director at Princes Group from their previous role as Head of Legal & HR at Starlinks Global.
Nadya Kilgour has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel EMEA at Shiseido from their previous role as Legal Director UK&I .
Natalie Brown has been promoted to Butternut Box at Butternut Box from their previous role as Butternut Box.
Niamh Hunt has been promoted to Regional General Counsel and Head of Group Corporate Legal at ofi from their previous role as Associate General Counsel.
Penelope Laver has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel at Smiths News plc from their previous role as Group Legal Counsel.
Perveen Sanghera has been promoted to Head of Legal – Digital, Technology & E-Commerce at Pentland Brands from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Rachael Waring has been appointed to Head of Legal at Sunseeker International Ltd from their previous role as Head of Legal at Virgin Media O2.
Richard Reade has been appointed to Chief Legal Officer at Highbourne Group from their previous role as Chief Legal Officer at The Nurture Group.
Svetlana Walker has been appointed to General Counsel and Company Secretary at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from their previous role as General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Klöckner Pentaplast.
Design Services/Advertising
Katie Bowles has been appointed to Associate General Counsel, Corporate Risk at WPP from their previous role as Legal Director at Logicor .
Amy Harker has been promoted to Head of Legal – Infrastructure & Disputes at M Group from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
Amy Moreland has been promoted to General Counsel and Senior Vice President Commercial at On-site Energy Ltd from their previous role as General Counsel .
Andreas Formosa has been promoted to Head of Legal (UK & Nordics) & Strategic BP for Energy Markets at Nadara from their previous role as Head of Legal .
Andrew Brocklebank has been appointed to Head of Legal at Adura from their previous role as Managing Counsel at SHELL U.K. LIMITED.
Coriander Davies has been appointed to General Counsel at Private Energy Partners from their previous role as Head of Legal at BAM UK & Ireland.
Ellie Allan has been promoted to Head of Legal at IG Renewables from their previous role as Legal Manager.
Gemma Buckley has been promoted to General Counsel and Chief Corporate Officer at SOLARPORT from their previous role as Chief Legal Officer.
Helen Light has been appointed to Head of Legal at DX Group from their previous role as Director, Legal, Insurance and Risk at Wood Thilsted.
James Russell-Jones has been promoted to General Counsel at Genel Energy PLC from their previous role as Head of Legal and Compliance.
James Czerniewski has been appointed to Head of Legal (Corporate & Finance) at M Group from their previous role as Head of Legal and Company Secretary at Telent Technology Services Ltd.
Kim Stockdale has been appointed to Head of Legal UK & Ireland at Hitachi Energy from their previous role as Head of Legal at EDF.
Melinda Lieshout has been appointed to Legal Director at ETCHEA ENERGY from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Xlinks .
Mijanou Muirhead has been appointed to General Legal Counsel at Alfred from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel & Senior Vice President at Afiniti.
Monica Younghusband has been appointed to Head of Legal at NatPower UK from their previous role as Assistant General Counsel at Storegga.
Oliver Lovett has been promoted to Head of Legal – Mer UK at Mer from their previous role as Interim Head of Legal.
Richard Hill has been promoted to General Counsel, Group Corporate Litigation and Regulatory at Shell from their previous role as General Counsel, Global Litigation.
Sabrina Polito has been appointed to Assistant General Counsel at Constellation from their previous role as Senior Associate at CMS UK.
Entertainment, Media, Sport and Gaming
Alice Hyde has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel at Little Dot Studios from their previous role as Senior Executive Legal and Business Affairs.
Archi Campbell has been promoted to Head of Legal at Kepler Interactive from their previous role as Director of Legal.
David Thornton has been promoted to Head of Legal at The R&A from their previous role as Manager – Legal Counsel.
Hayley Elsley has been promoted to General Counsel at Superstruct Entertainment from their previous role as Director of Legal .
Irina Chernyshova has been appointed to Director, Legal and Business Affairs at Warner Bros. Discovery from their previous role as Head of Legal at iGameMedia Ltd.
James Hall has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel & DPO at OnlyFans from their previous role as Senior Counsel & DPO.
Kate Lipman has been appointed to General Counsel at 180 Studios from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Centaur Media Plc.
Mahisha Rupan has been appointed to Director, Data Privacy and Security – EMEA at Netflix from their previous role as Associate General Counsel at Meta .
Maryam Ziarati McLoughlin has been appointed to General Counsel at Miniclip from their previous role as General Counsel at Paddle.
Natasha Aziz has been appointed to Regional & IP Counsel at HYROX from their previous role as General Counsel at FitXR .
Paul Errington has been promoted to Chief Legal Officer at NEC Group from their previous role as General Counsel and Company Secretary.
Phil Lucas has been promoted to Head of Legal, International & UK at Bauer Media Outdoor Europe from their previous role as Head of Legal.
Rachael Elliott has been appointed to Head of Legal & Business Affairs (Scripted Portfolio) at BBC Studios from their previous role as Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs at Fremantle.
Rod Findlay has been appointed to General Counsel at Aberdeen Football Club from their previous role as General Counsel at Birmingham City FC.
Sarah Wilson-Carter has been appointed to Group Head of Legal and Business Affairs at SISTER from their previous role as Senior Associate at CMS UK.
Sue Dawson has been promoted to Chief Legal Officer at Light & Wonder from their previous role as Deputy General Counsel.
Financial Services
Adam Czernikiewicz has been appointed to Head of Commercial – Legal at Taptap Send from their previous role as Head of Legal at Fuse Energy.
Alpa Oakley-White has been appointed to Head of Legal UK at Chatham Financial from their previous role as Head of Corporate Legal at Berenberg.
Helen Wakeford has been appointed to General Counsel at Nucleus Financial from their previous role as Head of Legal and Group Company Secretary at Transact .
Ian Cokayne has been appointed to Chief Legal & Risk Officer – Executive & Board Member at Gravita from their previous role as Partner, General Counsel and Head of Quality & Risk at Grant Thornton UK LLP.
Joanna O’Neill has been promoted to Director, Legal – Risk Intelligence at LSEG from their previous role as Assistant General Counsel .
Kelly Shields has been promoted to Head of Legal for Transport at Lloyds Banking Group from their previous role as Senior Lawyer .
Laetitia Majou has been promoted to SVP, Associate General Counsel at Dow Jones from their previous role as VP & Associate General Counsel .
Maria Passemard has been appointed to Director of Legal Operations /Legal COO at Legal & General from their previous role as Global Head of Legal Operations at Johnson Matthey.
Matthew Dobson has been appointed to General Counsel, Managing Director at AFP ASSETS LIMITED from their previous role as General Counsel at Medi2data .
Michael Cassone has been promoted to Associate General Counsel at HSBC from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Michelle Stephenson has been promoted to Head of Legal (In-house Legal Counsel) at Cambridge & Counties Bank from their previous role as Senior In-House Legal Counsel .
Phoebe Glenister-So has been appointed to Deputy General Counsel at Rede Partners from their previous role as Senior Associate at Ropes & Gray LLP.
Rebecca A Brown has been promoted to Regional Chief Legal Officer, EMEA at IQ-EQ from their previous role as Head of Legal – UK, Ireland and Crown Dependencies .
Roya Abrams has been appointed to Senior Vice President, Legal at EnTrust Global from their previous role as General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Eighteen48 Partners.
Sam Foskett has been promoted to General Counsel at Shawbrook from their previous role as Deputy General Counsel.
Sophie Pearn has been promoted to Head of Operations – Legal & Secretariat at Lloyds Banking Group from their previous role as Acting Head – Innovation & Transformation Legal.
Tamrynne Willers has been promoted to Head of Legal at Puma Property Finance from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Yanna Jacquet has been promoted to Head of Legal, Regulatory at NewDay from their previous role as Deputy Head of Legal, Regulatory .
Amy Coburn has been promoted to General Counsel at Puma Capital Group from their previous role as Group Legal Counsel.
Anastasia Wilshaw has been appointed to Head of Legal at Perenna Bank PLC from their previous role as Head of Legal (Sole Legal Counsel) and Company Secretary at ADM Investor Services International Limited.
Andrew Desmond has been appointed to Head of Legal – Product & Proposition at St. James’s Place from their previous role as Legal Counsel at Quilter Investors.
Andy Jackson has been appointed to Global Head of Complex Securities / Associate General Counsel at Franklin Templeton from their previous role as Executive Director and Senior Counsel at Goldman Sachs .
Anushka Herath has been promoted to General Counsel & Company Secretary at HSBC Innovation Bank from their previous role as Associate General Counsel .
Ben Mukhida-Olushola has been promoted to Senior Managing Director & Global Head Transaction Counsel at Gordon Brothers from their previous role as Managing Director & Global Head Transaction Counsel.
Brad Cope has been appointed to Associate General Counsel at Bregal Investments from their previous role as Solicitor & Senior Solicitor at MinterEllisonRuddWatts.
Caroline Kowall has been appointed to General Counsel at IG Group from their previous role as General Counsel, Head of Compliance and Corporate Secretary at S4 Capital Group.
Carolyne Hodkin has been appointed to Associate General Counsel, Board Secretary to Merrill Lynch at Bank of America from their previous role as Head of Corporate Governance, EMEA at Goldman Sachs.
Chandni Shah has been promoted to Managing Associate General Counsel at HSBC from their previous role as Associate General Counsel.
Daniel Smith has been appointed to General Counsel at OnStream Group Limited from their previous role as General Counsel at Macquarie Energy Leasing Limited.
David Quill has been promoted to Executive Director, Assistant General Counsel at JPMorganChase from their previous role as Vice President & Assistant General Counsel.
David Milner has been promoted to Head of Legal (Litigation) at Legal & General from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Deborah Kelly has been promoted to Associate General Counsel at HSBC from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Ekaterina Varela has been appointed to Head of Commercial Legal at The Fidelis Partnership from their previous role as Legal Counsel at AmTrust International.
Emily Brightwell has been promoted to Head of Regulatory Legal, EMEA at TP ICAP from their previous role as Regulatory Lawyer.
Emily Coupland has been appointed to General Counsel and Head of Compliance at Intact Insurance UK from their previous role as General Counsel at AXA UK & Ireland.
Estela Landro has been appointed to General Counsel, EMEA at Walker & Dunlop from their previous role as General Counsel, Europe at Wilmington Trust .
Eva Sanchez has been appointed to Group General Counsel at Optiver from their previous role as Chief Legal Officer at GSR.
Fintech
Chantelle Zemba has been appointed to Global Chief Legal Officer at Trustly from their previous role as General Counsel at Deliveroo .
Danny Ginsberg has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel at Lendable from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
Freddie Besant has been promoted to General Counsel at Boku from their previous role as Head of Legal.
Iain Simmons has been appointed to Group Commercial Legal Director at Monzo Bank from their previous role as Head of Legal (Consultant) at Quant.
Jayne Brayley has been appointed to General Counsel at Finova from their previous role as Senior Director – Legal EMEA and APAC at OneStream Software .
Martyna Budzynska has been promoted to General Counsel and SVP of Internationalisation at Tide from their previous role as Senior VP of Legal .
Natasha Fernandes has been promoted to Head of Legal at Archax from their previous role as Head of Corporate Legal.
Sarah Whiteley has been appointed to Chief Legal Officer at Funding Circle UK from their previous role as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at Cabot Credit Management.
Sarah Madden has been appointed to General Counsel, Starling Bank UK at Starling from their previous role as Assistant Company Secretary at Barclays .
Sonja Ipsen Millea has been promoted to Head of Legal for UK at Remitly from their previous role as Senior Corporate Counsel .
Stefan Platt has been promoted to Head of Legal at LMAX Group from their previous role as Legal and Regulatory Associate.
Suki Rai has been promoted to Head of Legal Privacy & Group DPO at Starling Bank from their previous role as Managing Counsel & Data Protection Officer.
Thomas Green has been promoted to General Counsel: Retirement Solutions and Customer Resolutions at Equiniti from their previous role as Assistant General Counsel.
Government Administration or Regulator
Sarah Keir has been promoted to Deputy Group General Counsel at DfT Operator from their previous role as Head of Legal.
Hospitality/Travel
Ben Tompkins has been promoted to Head of Legal at National Express LTD from their previous role as Deputy Head of Legal.
Daniel Ailion has been appointed to General Counsel at Robin Birley Holdings from their previous role as Head of Legal at 5 Hertford Street.
Eleanor Babiker has been promoted to Head of Legal Operations at British Airways from their previous role as Senior Employment Lawyer .
Emmanuelle Ronez has been promoted to Vice President General Counsel UK at PPHE Hotel Group from their previous role as Director of Legal .
Nick King has been appointed to General Counsel & Company Secretary at David Lloyd Clubs from their previous role as Senior Claims Counsel at Antares .
Rachel Poyntz-Baker has been appointed to Head of Legal at Gordon Ramsay Restaurants from their previous role as Head Of Legal at LUSH.
Infrastructure/Logistics/Transportation
Dan Cooke has been appointed to General Counsel at Impala Terminals from their previous role as Associate General Counsel at Castleton Commodities International.
Hannah Fullalove has been appointed to UK Head of Legal (assistant general counsel) at Holman UK from their previous role as Head of Legal, UK and Europe at Corpay .
Jonathan Ling has been promoted to General Counsel at JLA Group from their previous role as Legal and HR Director.
Lian Tooley has been appointed to Head of Legal at Starlinks Global from their previous role as Solicitor at ALT Legal.
Lok Wong has been promoted to Head of Legal, DGFF UKI at DHL Global Forwarding from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel.
Matt Starling has been appointed to Deputy Head Commercial Legal at GXO Logistics, Inc. from their previous role as Deputy Head of Legal at Wincanton .
Rebecca Archer has been appointed to General Counsel – Maritime Transport Division at James Fisher and Sons plc from their previous role as Assistant General Counsel at Stolt-Nielsen Limited.
Sally Watts has been appointed to Legal Director at Freightliner Ltd from their previous role as Legal Director and Company Secretary at Heavy Haul Rail Limited.
Sarah Choudhry has been appointed to Deputy General Counsel at EASTERN PACIFIC SHIPPING (UK) LIMITED from their previous role as General Counsel at Cool Company Ltd .
Tristan Stokes has been appointed to General Counsel at Culina Group Limited from their previous role as Legal Director at C E Transport Law.
Insurance
Katia Puras has been appointed to Head of Legal, Underwriting at OAK Global from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Chubb .
Shashi Inamdar has been appointed to Head of Legal at Ki from their previous role as Chief Counsel, UK & International at Gallagher Re.
Silvia Martinez has been appointed to Head of Legal, UK & Talbot at AIG from their previous role as SVP, General Counsel at Arch Insurance International .
Tamsyn McLean has been promoted to Deputy General Counsel at Assured Guaranty from their previous role as Principal European Transaction Counsel.
Will Scrimshaw has been appointed to Group General Counsel at Utmost Group from their previous role as Deputy General Counsel at Cornerstone .
Anna Macdonald has been promoted to Vice President, Corporate Legal at Skuld from their previous role as AVP, Corporate Legal.
Brett Harris has been appointed to Director and Senior Legal Counsel at Swiss Re from their previous role as Director at BlackRock.
Chris Wakem has been appointed to AVP, Associate General Counsel at Allied World from their previous role as Contract Attorney at White Shoe US Law Firm.
Gillian Holmes has been promoted to General Counsel at Arch Insurance International from their previous role as Vice President, Senior Counsel .
Harry Riyat has been promoted to Head of Legal at Arch Insurance International from their previous role as Senior Counsel .
James Middleton has been appointed to Group General Counsel at IQUW from their previous role as General Counsel at Talbot Underwriting.
Nick Stratful has been appointed to Head of Legal – Claims at Antares from their previous role as Chief Legal & Commercial Officer at Ellers Farm Distillery.
Owen Jones has been promoted to Head of Legal – Dispute Resolution at Bupa UK from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Rupinder Phull has been promoted to General Counsel at HomeServe UK from their previous role as Director of Legal.
Investment, VC and PE
Alison Armstrong has been promoted to General Counsel at GHO Capital Partners LLP from their previous role as Head of Legal & Compliance .
Andrew Devine has been promoted to Chief Legal Officer at BC Partners from their previous role as Chief Compliance Officer .
Chris Beardmore has been appointed to Associate General Counsel at Bain Capital from their previous role as Counsel, Corporate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
Constantine Knox has been promoted to Chief Legal Officer at Sona Asset Management from their previous role as General Counsel .
Daniel Barrett-Nembhard has been promoted to General Counsel at MMC Ventures from their previous role as Director of Legal.
George Meale has been appointed to General Counsel at TenFifty Capital from their previous role as Senior Associate at A&O Shearman.
James Spencer has been promoted to General Counsel at Crane Venture Partners from their previous role as Head of Legal .
Joseph Platt has been appointed to Head of Legal at Interogo Global Private Equity from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at IH International Advisors.
Mia Harding has been promoted to Head of Legal, International at Schonfeld from their previous role as Head of Legal, EMEA.
Neil Hayes has been appointed to General Counsel at Oxford University Endowment Management from their previous role as Chief Executive Officer at Octopus Energy Generation.
Rooshin Vaghadia has been promoted to Vice President, Legal at Actis from their previous role as Senior Director, Legal Counsel .
Rory Botros has been promoted to Head of Legal (Investment) at Gore Street Capital from their previous role as Legal Counsel.
Sarah Gray has been appointed to General Counsel at Railpen from their previous role as Interim Group General Counsel at Post Office Ltd.
Stephen Glasper has been promoted to General Counsel, EMEA at Millennium from their previous role as Senior Counsel.
Manufacturing/Mining/Services
Mary-Kate Irving has been appointed to Head of Legal at FLOWMAX LIMITED from their previous role as Commercial & Legal Manager at Prime plc.
Technology
Andzelika Godek has been appointed to General Counsel, Volue Group at Volue from their previous role as Director, Associate General Counsel at Cisco .
Daniel Bailey has been appointed to Legal Director at Teciem from their previous role as Legal Director at Finastra .
Ed Berman has been promoted to Legal Director – Global Regulatory Office at Equinix from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Eric Klotz has been appointed to VP of Legal at Pactum AI from their previous role as Head of Legal at Workvivo by Zoom.
Gillian Hill has been appointed to Head of Legal AmberWolf Limited at AmberWolf from their previous role as General Counsel at Project Better Energy.
Hamraj Gulamali has been promoted to General Counsel at Zinc from their previous role as Head of Legal and Compliance.
Ilan Sherr has been appointed to Vice President of Investigations and Regulatory Response at Lineal from their previous role as Executive Director at Aiscension.AI Limited.
Julian Plescia has been appointed to Group General Counsel at Sovereign AI from their previous role as Head of Legal – North Europe Cluster at DP World.
Justin Boyd has been appointed to General Counsel at Gresham from their previous role as Senior Corporate Counsel at Veson Nautica.
Kate Preston has been promoted to General Counsel, Head of Risk & Compliance at Birdie from their previous role as General Counsel.
Laura Shanley-Wright has been promoted to Head of Legal at Wonde from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Laura Egerton has been appointed to Head of Legal at Giacom from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Dentsu .
Luis Gomez has been appointed to General Counsel & DPO at InfoSum from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Brightwell .
Mary Bowie has been promoted to Managing Regional Counsel UK/RoI, APAC, MEA at Verisk from their previous role as Lead Legal Counsel UK.
Matthew Toms has been appointed to Head of Legal at OpenAsset from their previous role as Head of Legal at SurrealDB.
Michael Smith has been promoted to General Counsel at Revantage from their previous role as Principal Legal Counsel.
Neil Miller has been appointed to Director, Legal – YouTube Music EMEA at YouTube from their previous role as General Counsel at Merlin .
Pernille Achton Friis has been appointed to VP of Legal at KX from their previous role as Senior Lead Counsel at CrowdStrike .
Phil Hunt has been promoted to Associate General Counsel at Rakuten Viber from their previous role as Legal Counsel, Team Lead.
Philipp Wolf has been appointed to General Counsel at Conduct from their previous role as Global Data Protection Counsel at Palantir Technologies.
Rashda Rana SC has been appointed to General Counsel UK & EMEA at Nscale from their previous role as Global Construction & Infrastructure Projects Consultant at JDG .
Richard Purdy has been appointed to General Counsel, EMEA at Airia from their previous role as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at OneTrust .
Sofia Andriotis has been appointed to Head of Legal at Bellrock Group from their previous role as Head of UK Legal (Interim) at Alliance Medical Ltd.
Sophie Ogilvie has been promoted to Associate General Counsel, Data Protection at Meta from their previous role as Lead Counsel, Data Protection.
Sophie Cole has been appointed to Global Head of Legal at ITRS from their previous role as Principal Legal Counsel at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Steven Butler has been appointed to Vice President of Legal at Eckoh from their previous role as Legal Counsel at Tenerity .
Suzanne Joyce-Phillips has been appointed to VP, Legal & Privacy (DPO) at Crescendo from their previous role as Of Counsel at Simmons & Simmons.
Tatiana Koshina has been promoted to General Counsel, Digital at SLB from their previous role as M&A Deputy General Counsel.
Tom Parachini has been appointed to Legal Director at FINN from their previous role as General Counsel at Aptimus Capital Partners.
Tom Hingley has been appointed to VP of Legal (Commercial & Partnerships) at Nscale from their previous role as Senior Associate at Freshfields .
Tracey Anne Wallace has been appointed to Head of Commercial Contracts at Bell Integration from their previous role as Commercial Director and General Counsel at Disruptive Industries.
Victoria Ferguson has been appointed to Head of Legal at Unframe AI from their previous role as Head of Legal at C TWO .
Sarah Murphy has been promoted to Head of Legal at Colossyan from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel .
Etienne Waring has been promoted to Director & Head of Legal at Samsung Electronics from their previous role as Head of Legal – European Services.
Telecomms
James Liddiard has been promoted to General Counsel at ALL.SPACE from their previous role as Associate General Counsel .
Julia Bishop has been promoted to Head of Legal: IP, Compliance and Digital Products & Services at Hutchison Whampoa (Europe) Limited from their previous role as Group Senior Legal Counsel.
Kate O’Leary has been appointed to Head of Regulatory – Legal Implementation and Delivery at VodafoneThree from their previous role as Head of Legal at Three UK.
Rachael Nicol has been appointed to Legal Director – Consumer, Brand and Data at Virgin Media O2 from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Chanel . Hester Pooles has been promoted to Head of Legal for Investments at Vodafone from their previous role as Lead Counsel.
