Barclays has appointed Herbert Smith partner Michael Shaw to the role of deputy group general counsel.
Shaw is a prominent lawyer in Herbert Smith’s corporate practice, having advised on a string of major bids in recent years, including acting for EdF on its £12.5bn takeover bid of British Energy and for the investment banks advising Rio Tinto on BHP Billiton’s $147bn (£89.6bn) hostile bid.
He will report to Barclays Group general counsel Mark Harding and will be responsible for supporting the management of the Barclays legal function and the provision of legal support and advice to the board and senior management of the bank.
The role of deputy general counsel has been vacant since late last year when Judith Shepherd moved to take on the Barclays global and commercial retail bank general counsel position. Shaw’s appointment ends a period of several months of searching for a replacement.
Commenting on the appointment, Harding told Legal Week: “Michael is an outstanding guy who has made a huge success of his private practice career, and has the requisite technical and people management skills we were looking for.”
Shaw has a particular expertise in takeovers, having been seconded as joint secretary to the panel on takeovers and mergers for two years in the late 1990s. He also specialises in domestic and international equity issues, M&A, corporate restructurings and joint ventures.
Commenting on the move, Shaw said: “After 17 years at Herbert Smith I wanted a new challenge – and the opportunity to oversee corporate transactions for Barclays alongside Mark Harding and support the bank’s various teams of lawyers met that objective perfectly.”
He joins one of the most prestigious in-house teams in the UK with Barclays maintaining its position as one of the UK’s influential institutions despite the prolonged banking crisis.
The appointment follows Barclays’ restructuring of its in-house legal function in January this year, which saw Sue Brooks brought in from Barclaycard Technology to fill the new position of chief of staff.
In July, Barclays completed its review of the 11 law firm panels it operates, with Addleshaw Goddard brought in as a main adviser alongside existing general advisory panel members Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Lovells and Simmons & Simmons. Herbert Smith, however, is not one of Barclays’ main advisers.
