General counsel are increasingly in the driving seat when it comes to hiring advisers for big-ticket deals, according to the latest Big Question survey, which shows in-house lawyers gaining more influence at the UK’s top companies.
Nearly half (47%) of the 100 partners surveyed said that heads of legal decide which firms to appoint to advise on major corporate deals, compared with 21% who cited the chief executive. A further 20% cited the finance director as the most likely to pick legal counsel, with 10% pointing to the financial adviser.
