Prestigious accolade for North West lawyers

Richard Somerville

Two of the region’s lawyers have been featured in the latest Hot 100 list, compiled by The Lawyer Magazine.

Published in association with AlixPartners and Saunderson House, the list features the profession’s brightest stars of 2020.

Electricity North West’s Richard Somerville has been recognised by the latest listing, as has Claire Edwards, of Manchester-based Pinsent Masons.

Stockport-based Somerville has been included for his expertise helping shape the future of the UK legal profession.

General Counsel and Company Secretary for the firm, which operates the North West’s power network, he navigated one of his busiest years at Electricity North West since joining in 2010.

This involved a sale to a consortium made up of Japanese Kansai Electric Power, international investment company CNIC and London-based energy and infrastructure investor Equitix.

“It is an honour to be named on such a prestigious list,” Somerville said.

“The list features a number of high profile lawyers and experienced figures, so to be recognised is an achievement I am immensely proud of.

“Last year was one of the busiest years I’ve had since being at Electricity North West, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Whilst this award recognises my achievements, I also want to say a huge thank you to the team who also play a vital role in the way we operate.”

As well as overseeing a takeover, Somerville also oversaw two re-tenders done for the first time since 2010, including the onshoring of the company’s offshore IT support and its largest outsourcing contract, for the construction of underground assets, worth £400m.

Claire Edwards made partner at Pinsent Masons in 2017 and was appointed as head of data protection and information law just a year later.

Last year, she captured work for a number of government departments and public bodies to provide data advice on key strategic projects, as well as for corporations.

Working with Ladbrokes, Edwards and her team developed a solution that made the process of subject access requests more efficient for the betting company, which was then picked up for some of the firm’s other clients such as construction conglomerate Hanson, and was also used on subject access requests raised as part of employment claims for Mondelez and BAM, for example.

Claire Edwards

Alongside her public sector and government-related work, Edwards’ practice includes advising clients such as LK Bennett and Manchester Airport on a range of matters from digital campaigns and customer marketing, to international transfers, handling infringements and the data side of innovative tech.

This year, she will continue leading data protection work for Tesco, as well as giving advice on the same issues for Honda in relation to its autonomous vehicles. To deal with the increase of work, Edwards brought in two new senior lawyers to her team.

The Lawyer Hot 100 recognises the most daring, innovative and creative lawyers from in-house, private practice and the Bar and those on the list are shaping the legal profession right now and in the future.

Richard Simmons, who compiled the list for the magazine, said: “As always, the 2020 edition of the list includes a broad spectrum of names, because The Hot 100 are the lawyers of now.”

“Garlanded CEOs and managing partners sit alongside rising stars whose names are not yet so well known. Meanwhile, the less familiar faces are not simply ‘ones to watch’ – they are already achieving great things in their field.”

He added: “The great legal issues of our time loom large. From the prorogation of Parliament to climate change; from the gig economy to Russian oligarchs, between them the Hot 100 class of 2020 have a hand in many of the biggest stories in the news today.”

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