OFT stays in-house to appoint new general counsel
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has ended its search for a new general counsel with the internal appointment of Frances Barr.Barr, a competition specialist and a legal director with the OFT, has worked for the regulator for the last 10 years, having previously worked in private practice at Slaughter and May.The appointment follows the retirement of former general counsel Brian McHenry, who stepped down from the post in May. Senior director of policy, Ali Nikpay, had been holding the position on a temporary basis for the last two months.
July 31, 2008 at 01:52 AM
2 minute read
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has ended its search for a new general counsel with the internal appointment of Frances Barr.
Barr, a competition specialist and a legal director with the OFT, has worked for the regulator for the last 10 years, having previously worked in private practice at Slaughter and May.
The appointment follows the retirement of former general counsel Brian McHenry, who stepped down from the post in May. Senior director of policy, Ali Nikpay, had been holding the position on a temporary basis for the last two months.
Commenting on the move, Barr said: "In an increasingly litigious environment, my background and experience of both the competition law regime and the public law context will enable the OFT to ensure that it can deliver high impact outcomes which are legally robust.
"I want to develop the legal talent within the OFT and recruit to build a dynamic team."
The decision to make an internal appointment has met with a mixed reaction as some competition specialists had expected the organisation to make a high profile private practice hire.
Such expectations had been fuelled by an increasingly proactice stance towards cracking down on anti-competitive behaviour, which has seen the regulator lock horns with a string of companies.
Norton Rose competition partner Michael Grenfall said: "[Barr] has great experience within both the OFT and private practice, having spent a number of years with the regulator and with Slaughters. She has the understanding of both litigation and working with Government necessary to do the job."
However, an unnamed City competition partner said: "It is thought that by all accounts the OFT needs a robust general counsel as it becomes more involved in litigation. Someone more high-profile was needed for a role of this stature. An external candidate would have been the better option."
Barr's promotion comes after the OFT added former Slaughters associate Jackie Holland to its legal function. Holland was appointed as the head of competition within the advisory, policy international group in May.
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