What is the role of general counsel in managing risk? Aside from legal risk, should they have an advisory role on compliance, reputational risk and operational risk? A senior panel of in-house counsel describe how their businesses manage risk functions

ed-gretton-ccfe-2011-pic-05Ed Gretton (pictured): There is a perception that risk has increased hugely and Hanson, as Hanson plc, previously used to have a wonderful Sarbanes-Oxley programme which many saw as a bunch of very expensive accountants sitting in a room, drinking coffee, charging millions in fees.

We could have told you everything about UK corporate governance, Turnbull committees and things like that. We had very developed risk management and internal control programmes. But then we were bought by Heidelberg Cement and the traditional UK corporate governance no longer applied, for some with a great sigh of relief. Did we lose any value because of that? I'm not sure we did.