I interviewed barrister Susanna McGibbon a couple of times since she moved to Petty France in 2021 to head the Government Legal Department, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to interview her one final time before she stepped down from her role as GLD permanent secretary and treasury solicitor this month.
On highlights from the last five years, McGibbon speaks proudly of her team ‘maintaining high-quality legal work’ during and after Covid, and the quality of work that the Conservative and Labour administrations have received.
‘Professionalising’ GLD was a big priority for McGibbon, who decided to create a chief operating officer role. ‘I’ve been keen to learn from the private sector - what’s worked well and not so well for them. Under the chief operating officer, we have continued to professionalise our support services and working in partnership with lawyers providing external legal advice.’
Nationwide expansion was another priority. GLD now has hubs in Manchester, Bristol, Leeds and Croydon. ‘My mission for all of these offices is that each of these locations should be a microcosm of GLD. I was in Leeds last week visiting teams on my farewell tour and it was brilliant to see that microcosm in action. All underpinned by our precious culture that people feel valued.’
Challenges over the past five years have included the pace of technological change and the high volume of work. ‘Making sure we continue to attract the best talent is something we cannot afford to take our eye off the ball,’ McGibbon adds. ‘People come to us because of the quality of the work. We cannot pay the salaries of the private sector which is why that culture [of feeling valued] is so precious, and the unique nature of the work.’
What has she learned during her time as treasury solicitor? ‘The importance of keeping well connected across the legal profession. That feeds into continued recruitment and why people are attracted to us. I’ve done quite a lot of getting out there speaking at conferences about the work we do, particularly the unique nature of it.’
What has she learned about herself? ‘The importance of being able to operate outside your comfort zone.’ Every week, McGibbon would go ‘properly off grid’ for an hour to think about the challenges of the coming week to work out priorities and ensure she was at the top of her game. ‘I picked it up in the first couple of years because I recognised I was being bombarded with things from all angles.’
McGibbon is not only leaving GLD but, after 33 years, the civil service. She has a 'range of opportunities' she will be considering. But first, some time off.
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