From advising the writers of Spitting Image to the directorship of a Murdoch-owned company, HarperCollins UK GC Simon Dowson-Collins has had a varied career. His next challenge, he tells Alex Newman: confronting the enormous pressures facing the publishing industry

'Epic' neatly sums up Simon Dowson-Collins' most pressing current legal battle. The UK general counsel of publisher HarperCollins, which along with the estate of JRR Tolkien jointly owns the rights to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is suing Warner Bros for $80m (£50m) for featuring the series' characters on slot machines. The film studio has counter-sued, alleging a breach of contract.

And while he won't talk about the case, it has been hands-on for the London-based GC, who has had to travel to Los Angeles six times already this year for meetings with the company's US counsel. It has also required the in-house lawyer to do a fair bit of advisory work of his own. "Part of my role is to manage our relationship with the estate, and I visit Christopher Tolkien [JRR's youngest son] from time to time in France," he says. "The rights issues around estates are very convoluted, particularly with an author like Tolkien or Agatha Christie, so that requires a lot of careful, nuanced and sensitive advice."

Middle Earth via an LA district court is a long way from Dowson-Collins' career origins at the nine-partner Soho media boutique Wright Webb Syrett. But the GC's career has routinely traversed a wide legal landscape, from detailed libel questions to high-profile M&A and major competition investigations. Most recently, it has also taken him to a strategic business role on the UK board of HarperCollins, an organisation that requires its lawyers – and Dowson-Collins in particular – to think and advise beyond their legal remit.

However, the promotion is not the first time the GC has had to highlight his extra-judicial credentials. "At Wright Webb I acted for Spitting Image," he recalls. "The firm was deciding who should go along to work with them on a series, and someone said 'who's the guy who looks least like a lawyer?' – assuming lawyers were exactly the sort of people Spitting Image hated. They pointed to me."

One of those pointing was partner Robin Shaw, a long-time adviser to the oft-sued Private Eye magazine and now a consultant at Gordon Dadds (following its takeover of Davenport Lyons after that firm's collapse earlier this year). Now Dowson-Collins points to Shaw whenever he needs external advice on commercial litigation or complex libel matters. Other firms close to HarperCollins' UK in-house legal team include Addleshaw Goddard for corporate and commercial matters, Wiggin for media law and Allen & Overy on big-ticket deals.

Which firms offer the best solution to any matter is something "we constantly think about", says Dowson-Collins, who is happy with his current law firm relationships and has no plans to review the line-up.

harpercollins-gc-webBuzzcocks to board
What is most enjoyable about the GC role is its variety, explains Dowson-Collins. It is a comment fairly typical of in-house heads, perhaps because most lawyers don't get the chance to be involved in matters outside their sometimes narrow practice focus. Dowson-Collins' first job after private practice – an in-house role at the BBC advising the writers of Have I Got News For You and Never Mind The Buzzcocks on libel matters – was fun while it lasted, but did not provide the longstanding allure or diversity of a leadership position at HarperCollins.

"I think the reason I've stayed here so long is because the role is so broad," he notes, having joined the company in 2001. "It's not just highly specific libel law, but copyright, contracts work, M&A and litigation. I'm head of public affairs, a pension trustee, compliance head and the second-longest serving member on the executive committee." With the exception of the new directorship position, Dowson-Collins says he has pushed himself to take on many of these surplus roles in an effort to permanently stay out of his comfort zone.

Does he have advice for other in-house lawyers? "I think, as a GC, the aim is to become a trusted adviser to the chief executive over a period of time. What happens is, formally or informally, the GC has the opportunity to advise way outside their remit of legal advice. I wanted to formalise that in my role."

Not that Dowson-Collins is without support from the other lawyers in the broad stable of subsidiaries at parent News Corp, such as the company's head of governmental affairs, Toni Bush, with whom the GC works closely. In January HarperCollins and its 12-strong in-house team will move in with its parent company at its new headquarters beside The Shard at London Bridge. "It'll be good to get everyone under one roof and, from a legal perspective, this informal collaboration is really strengthening our team," says Dowson-Collins. "All of the News Corp people are there, and I already get a lot of support from them in managing the legal business, as well as support from the News UK team on public policy."

The publisher's dilemma
Despite being one of the strongest brands in the publishing world, HarperCollins' collaboration with its sister companies – be it informal or formal – is vital. Even with its mighty media conglomerate backing, the organisation is currently facing an intense trading environment, with challenges now coming in the form of imperious industry competitors Apple, Google and Amazon.

"This is particularly true for Amazon, which is a big customer, but one that has its own imprints and channels through which authors can self-publish," explains Dowson-Collins. "There's a profoundly disruptive nature to competition in publishing at the moment: anyone can be a publisher now. These pressures have contributed to consolidation in the industry – it's why Penguin and Random House merged, and was a driver behind our purchase of Harlequin and Mills & Boon earlier this year."

While Dowson-Collins does not believe the consolidation will necessarily lead to a point where there are just two major players, the digital revolution in publishing has given rise to several legal problems. "From a legal standpoint, it throws up a lot of antitrust and commercial complexity," says the GC. "The US vs Apple et al case was one example; all of the major publishers were investigated by the European Commission a few years ago, and we entered into commitments that reset the trading terms with our customers. So regulatory oversight – be it the Competition and Markets Authority or the European Commission – is a big part of our job now."

This is made all the more difficult given the slow decline of print publishing. For companies like HarperCollins, which did perfectly well in a market that was free of recurrent technological shocks, this requires creative innovation. "It really wasn't obvious to me how you go about responding to it," admits Dowson-Collins, who wrote an MBA dissertation last year on how the company could counter the challenges of the digital world, and is now integrating his findings into the business. "I now know you need to have a less hierarchical structure, and encourage ideas from all around and outside the company – not just the board room. The cutting edge of thought is with the people who are half my age or younger."

Are there some parallels with the legal profession, perhaps? Dowson-Collins thinks there might be. "If you're a niche player, there's always room to do very well, just as there will always be traditional print books," he says. "But for the larger firms, and particularly those in the mid-market, it's a very challenging environment. For those that can't differentiate themselves there remains the question over what their competitive advantage is. As long as virtual law firms continue to grow, traditional firms need to justify their existence."

And just as HarperCollins must respond to its customers' demand for change and technological responsiveness if it is to survive, Dowson-Collins is a shrewd, forward-thinking customer of legal services. "I don't want hourly rates, I want fixed rates," he states, explaining that the system works well. "If something completely unforeseen arises, we'll reconsider, but we have budgeting requirements and I am ultimately accountable to my colleagues. Going over budget is just unacceptable."

He is equally forceful when asking his external counsel to go through specific points of law: "When I'm instructing, I don't expect to pay for know-how about statute. When I ask a partner what the law is on a particular matter – for me that's a hygiene factor, and part of a wider relationship with the firms we use."

Blue sky to bookshelf
While a large part of his role is reimagining the future of a major publisher, Dowson-Collins remains an avid proselytizer for the brand in its present form: currently stacked on the lawyer's bedside table are copies of new HarperCollins releases, including offerings from David Walliams, Wilbur Smith and Lena Dunham.

"I've come late to the party, but I'm reading A Game of Thrones," he says. " We had an event at the Freemasons' Hall recently where there were about 1,500 George RR Martin fans, and then I realised there might be something to it." Dowson-Collins admits he didn't know much about the series before the event, though didn't confess that to the assembled devotees. Keeping up with the herd – be it fiction lovers or digital competitors – is something he is determined to do.

Simon's current HarperCollins reading list
George RR Martin – A Game of Thrones
Bernard Cornwell – Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles
Wilbur Smith – Desert God
Lena Dunham – Not That Kind of Girl
David Walliams – The First Hippo on the Moon

Simon Dowson-Collins is nominated for General Counsel of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2014, which will be held in London on 27 November. For more details visit: britishlegalawards.com.