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International In-house Counsel Journal logoInternational In-house Counsel Journal logo

From Backstage to Lead Role: The Emergence of In-House Counsel in Executive Management

Abstract

The evolution of General Counsel’s role within the corporate environment is an interesting one to observe. Traditionally, the in-house counsel was pigeonholed into a distinctly supporting role. The remit was typically the administrative management of the company’s legal affairs, ranging from oversight of contract negotiation and review, to engaging outside counsel for advice in specialised or litigious matters. In some instances, they would be consulted for their specialist legal view on specific subject matters which related to the company’s business activities. Outside of this, the General Counsel often occupied a position of relative anonymity and the broader legal department was seen as a cost to the business. Other than times when the company found itself in litigation, or when it needed to assess an imminent legal risk, the General Counsel was kept out of the commercial and business management decision making process. It was generally rare to find a company which would turn to its internal counsel for thoughts on business strategy or revenue growth.

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Author

Portrait image of Morgan Deane
Morgan Deane
Chief Executive Officer & President of the Executive Board, Helvea-Baader Bank Group, Switzerland

Morgan Deane began his career as a legal and regulatory advisor at Bear Stearns in Europe in 2004. He was promoted to the position of Vice-President where he was responsible for providing legal and regulatory advice to the fixed income derivatives and distressed debt businesses. Following the acquisition of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan, Mr. Deane became a Vice President in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) Legal & Compliance team where he was responsible for advising the trustee, treasury and securities services business lines. He joined the Helvea Group in 2010, becoming their General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer overseeing all legal and compliance matters for their equity brokerage businesses internationally. He was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2013 following the Helvea Group’s merger with Baader Bank AG where he took overall management responsibility for legal, compliance, risk management and human resources. In July 2015, Mr. Deane was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Helvea-Baader Bank Group. Mr. Deane holds B.A, M.A, LL.B & LL.M degrees and is a US Attorney (New York). He also holds an International Diploma in Regulatory Compliance and is a Fellow of the International Compliance Association.

Company

Helvea-Baader Bank Group

Baader-Helvea is one of the leading investment banks for the Germany, Austria and Switzerland region and market leader in trading financial instruments. It provides financing solutions for companies in the German-speaking world, and offers comprehensive services to institutional investors in marketing and selling shares, bonds and derivatives. As market maker/specialist it is responsible for the exchange and over-the-counter pricing of more than 700,000 securities. The group is headquartered in Munich and has offices in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Geneva, Zurich, London, New York and Montreal.

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