Lloyds Banking Group's newly installed GC for insurance Joanne Jolly tells Alex Newman about changes in the bank's senior legal team, fire-fighting at RSM Tenon and how her time at legacy Barlow Lyde & Gilbert gives her the edge when instructing insurance lawyers

Out of the fire; into the frying pan. On paper at least, that's how you could interpret the most recent move by Lloyds Banking Group's general counsel and company secretary for insurance, Joanne Jolly. No sooner had she steered the winding down and sale of professional services firm RSM Tenon, Jolly had agreed to move to Lloyds, ahead of the bank's landmark sale of TSB and amid a re-emerging row over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI).

The PPI claims, for which Lloyds has set aside nearly £10bn to date, had recently been subject to a BBC investigation, which alleged that the bank had used an obscure Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rule to reduce payouts to claimants.

On 10 April this year, two weeks after the BBC report, Jolly stepped into the fray, arriving in time for a large 'town hall' meeting of Lloyds' lawyers, many of whom are based at the Edinburgh headquarters of the insurance division's main brand, Scottish Widows. "It was a great introduction," reflects Jolly, who says she was convinced to join the group because of the insurance division's iconic brand and the raft of senior figures she met during the interview process.

Her role at Lloyds – which straddles the legal and governance responsibilities for the insurance arm – has required Jolly to report to four of those she met at the interview stage: group chairman Lord Blackwell, insurance chief executive Toby Strauss, group GC Andrew Whittaker and his deputy, Kate Cheetham. As of this week, Jolly will report into insurance board chairman Nick Prettejohn, who took over from Blackwell after he moved into the group chairman role.

"I've got a real seat at the table and get to work closely with those running the business," she tells Legal Week. "It is this that I really enjoy."

For Lloyds, a key consideration in its appointment of Jolly was her immediate experience as GC and company secretary of RSM Tenon, which – after entering administration – was sold to accountancy rival Baker Tilly last year. "It gave me crucial experience for my current role, and an invaluable insight into the management of a business at a critical point," she explains. "I was asked to move over to Baker Tilly, but the Lloyds offer was a huge opportunity for me, particularly given my insurance background."

When she joined RSM in January 2013, she was fully aware of the role's probable shelf-life. "It was a wonderful, fascinating year," says Jolly, who worked with Macfarlanes partner Matthew Blows on RSM's winding down and sale. "I went in with my eyes open, knowing that the group had a stressed balance sheet and anticipating that the position may be relatively short-lived. It was apparent that if the business could not be turned around we would be doing some form of transaction