Diversity and inclusion on the agenda for Scotland’s in-house lawyers

Coca Cola’s legal director for Western Europe is to deliver the opening keynote at the Law Society of Scotland’s In-house Annual Conference later this month.

Ingrid Cope, Coca Cola’s in-house Legal Director for Western Europe, will give the opening keynote address on ‘How in-house lawyers can shift the dial on diversity, equality and inclusion’ to an audience of in-house lawyers on 16 June. She will discuss the company’s history of supporting civil rights, diversity and inclusion and how the legal profession should be challenging itself in this area as well as highlighting benefits of diversity and inclusion and steps that can be taken on both a profession-wide and individual basis.

The conference is being held online across two mornings on 16 and 17 June, and features expert speakers and panelists who will cover a range of topics and issues affecting in-house lawyers, including the impact of Covid-19, wellbeing and sustainability. The Law Society of Scotland’s new president for 2021/22, Ken Dalling, will also present the In-house Rising Star Award 2021 on Wednesday 16 June in recognition of the talent, drive and commitment of solicitors in the early stages of their careers.

Thursday’s opening speaker, experienced General Counsel and legal risk manager, Ian Jones, will be examining risk and what solicitors working in-house need to do to assess and mitigate risk in their organisations, including the effects of the pandemic in the shorter and longer term as well as other potential risks on the horizon. Ian has taught lawyers and others legal risk management for a number of years, taking an approach which is practical, but also looks at risk as more than managing by algorithms and checklists.

Nicola Macleod, Executive VP and General Counsel, Spirit Energy, will close the conference with a thought provoking talk on change, innovation and leadership.

Vlad Valiente, Co-convener of the Law Society of Scotland In-house Lawyers Committee, said: “I am very excited about this year’s conference. It’s key themes focus on change and innovation as we start to look beyond the impact of the pandemic. We have excellent speakers who will not only examine some of the challenges we have all faced over the past year, but also offer insight and information on what we can do within our organisations and across the in-house legal community to not only assess and address those challenges, but also highlight opportunities.”

Co-convener Sheekha Saha added: “It really is a fantastic programme which provides opportunities to discuss some of the key issues we face as a profession, alongside practical guidance on risk management strategies and legal professional privilege. Importantly this year’s conference also looks at diversity and inclusion as drivers for authentic leadership and innovation.

“I’m very much looking forward to engaging with friends and colleagues at our second virtual annual in-house conference and of course to celebrating our immensely talented, new lawyer colleagues with the announcement of this year’s In-house Rising Star Award winner.”

Panel discussions over the two-day conference will look at Covid a year on and explore the challenges and opportunities which have arisen over the past 12 months. Norma Shippin, director and legal adviser at NHS National Services Scotland, will steer the panel discussion on legal privilege and ethical considerations for in-house lawyers, while Anne Garness from Scottish Social Services Council will facilitate a group discussion on trainee supervision and talent management. A variety of breakout sessions will cover wellbeing, covid impact on change and innovation, and sustainability.

More details on ticket prices (free for unemployed members) and registration are available on the Law Society of Scotland website.