Barclays Hunt For New Legal Chief Nears End

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

18 April 2003

Fears that the Barclays Group's search for a new general counsel were in crisis have been soothed by the bank's announcement on Thursday that a shortlist of four likely candidates for the role has been drawn up, and that an announcement regarding the new UK legal chief will be made at the end of this month.

The current incumbent, Howard Trust announced last year that he planned to leave the bank, but the search for his replacement has been somewhat fraught.

Reporting last week, The Lawyer news service revealed that the group's first choice, the general counsel of a large US corporation, had turned the position down on the grounds that the salary was too low, and that the job did not come with a board position on the bank's executive committee.

An unnamed inside source also revealed to The Lawyer that the nature of the role has caused 'huge internal fights', with one camp within the bank favouring the appointment of a general counsel who will just manage the in-house legal function, whilst another faction argues that Mr Trust's successor should be a top-level strategic legal adviser sitting on the organisation's executive committee.

The bank last week confirmed that Howard Trust is to leave at the end of April, a delay of one month from his planned departure date. Speaking on Thursday, a Barclays spokesman explained that:

'We have been very thorough and methodical about the process, which means it has taken a long time, but we are on schedule to make an announcement at the end of the month.'

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