In-house counsel from Vodafone, IBM, Siemens and Dell launched a new Thames Valley branch of the Commerce & Industry (C&I) Group last week.

The group, which will be chaired by members of Vodafone's legal team, will provide networking events and training to in-house lawyers in the region.


Executive committee members include Lee Ramsay and Sarah Rosser, in-house lawyers at Vodafone; Bruce Macmillan, senior legal counsel at Dell; George Bisnought, legal adviser at Systems Union; Louisa Michelson, senior attorney at IBM; and Martin Heath and Charlie von Schmieder, deputy head of legal and legal counsel respectively at Siemens.


Ms Ramsay said: 'We decided it would be easier if the committee was made up of firms rather than individuals, because there were two or three individuals interested in each firm, and we can share the workload. A lot of the large companies in the region are involved.


'We are looking at training on soft skills such as cultural awareness and career planning, and a career mentoring scheme. But the focus will be on networking and social events.'


To find out about joining the group, e-mail: info@cigroup.org.uk.