Almost 80 general counsel and legal executives have put forward a collective appeal to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) by penning a letter, calling for the formal acknowledgment and inclusion of the role of general counsel in the overhauling process of the U.K. Corporate Governance Code. It has been indicated that the U.K. Governance Code is expected to undergo significant update with the primary goal of improving accountability among directors and board members. The FRC, as the regulatory body for auditors in the U.K., initiated this consultation in May.
Many leading legal professionals have taken issue with what they term as the code’s “extraordinary” absence of reference to the critical role of the general counsel in its framework. Whilst the specific details of this collective appeal remain undisclosed due to paywall restrictions, it is clear that the call for change draws attention to the critical strategic and oversight nature of the general counsel role.
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