Should GCs be the conscience of the company?

What do you do when something might be legally acceptable, but doesn’t feel right?

In the latest episode of GC Spotlight, Brian Noon and Lauren Cannon are joined by James Blair, former General Counsel at Speedy Hire plc, to discuss some of the difficult decisions he’s faced throughout his career and what it takes to do the right thing when it isn’t the easy option.

For James, being a GC involves much more than providing legal advice. It means having sound judgement, staying resilient when things get difficult and being prepared to hold your ground when the right decision isn’t necessarily the most comfortable one.

James’s career has taken him from New Zealand to the London Stock Exchange, private practice, investment banking and eventually senior in-house legal roles.

After years working on complex, high-value deals, the 2008 financial crash brought what he describes as a “pang of conscience” about the work he had been involved in. It made him question where his career was heading, and he ultimately walked away from investment banking, despite knowing it would mean taking a significant pay cut.

That experience stayed with him and influenced how he approached challenges later in his career, including a major corporate crisis at Speedy Hire, which led to investigations, leadership changes and several years of boardroom turbulence.

James reflects on the pressures of supporting a business through such a challenging period, the importance of remaining calm and why GCs sometimes need to step outside their traditional legal responsibilities.

The conversation also raises a broader question about corporate governance and accountability: should GCs be the conscience of the company?

Drawing on examples including the Post Office Horizon scandal, James discusses the importance of speaking up when something isn’t right, the challenges surrounding whistleblowing and why earning trust and respect matters more than simply being liked.

His advice to aspiring GCs? Expect the unexpected, be resilient, stay true to yourself and, ultimately, try to do the right thing.

For in-house lawyers, there’s plenty to take from this conversation. The hardest moments in a GC’s career rarely come with a clear rulebook, and how you handle them says a lot about the kind of leader you are.

Listen to James’s episode of the GC Spotlight Podcast at gcspotlightpodcast.com.