from left to right: martine petetin, tony wales and sarah biro: corporate counsel must be seen to be business partners“To be effective in-house counsel,we must be,and be recognised as,business partners,”Martine Petetin,general counsel Europe of British American Tabacco(BAT),told delegates during a session at this year’s Association of Corporate Counsel(ACC)Europe annual meeting in Brussels.

For corporate counsel pondering how to reconcile the legal and business sides of their professional personality, Petetin’s logic was clear.