New GC to lead utilities giant's legal overhaul
United Utilities is set to overhaul its legal function following the appointment of new general counsel Tom Keevil. Keevil joined the FTSE 100 utilities giant from tobacco group Gallaher at the beginning of December following the departure of former United Utilities general counsel Tim Rayner, who joined Rolls Royce in April.
January 08, 2008 at 05:07 AM
2 minute read
United Utilities is set to overhaul its legal function following the appointment of new general counsel Tom Keevil.
Keevil joined the FTSE 100 utilities giant from tobacco group Gallaher at the beginning of December following the departure of former United Utilities general counsel Tim Rayner, who joined Rolls Royce in April.
Group legal manager Simon Gardiner, who acted as interim general counsel before Keevil's appointment, steps up to become head of legal, while former legal services chief David Hosker becomes senior counsel.
Prior to joining Gallaher in 2000, Keevil spent 10 years with City firm Simmons & Simmons, where he was a partner in the litigation department.
In 2002 he led a major review of the tobacco giant's advisers, which Simmons – the company's historical main adviser – joined on an enlarged panel by Slaughter and May and Stevens & Bolton.
Keevil is now set to bring the company's regulatory and non-regulatory teams together as a single 40-strong business unit.
He told Legal Week: "We currently have several teams focused on different parts of the business. My plan is to merge them together to ensure that the legal service we provide is proactive."
Regular advisers to United Utilities include national firms Eversheds, Addleshaw Goddard and Hill Dickinson. Its main corporate adviser is Slaughters, which advised the company on the recent £1bn sale of its electricity distribution business.
Keevil said he did not foresee making any changes to the company's roster of outside counsel in the near future.
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