"Why Being an In-House Counsel is the Best Job in the World" with Nick Folland (General Counsel & Company Secretary, M&S)

The Centre for Business Law and Practice, in collaboration with the LUBS Marks & Spencer Archive, is delighted to host Mr Nick Folland, General Counsel and Company Secretary of Marks & Spencer).

Nick will deliver a distinguished lecture entitled: “Why Being an In-House Counsel Is the Best Job in the World.”

Nick has extensive legal and governance experience, having been General Counsel and Company Secretary in FTSE 100 businesses since 2001, originally qualifying as a solicitor at Linklaters & Paines in 1993. Nick joined M&S in 2018 and has been instrumental in guiding the business through a successful transformation programme and significant headline stories, including a major cyber incident in April 2025. Previously, Nick was Chief Executive of the Crown Prosecution Service, where he also led a major cross-government IT change programme reforming the criminal justice system. Prior to that, he was Chief of Staff to the CEO of the Co-op Group, and before that was a member of the retail board at Kingfisher plc. He is a founder and honorary life member of the industry body, the GC100, and is a Non-Executive Director of the Board of Defence Equipment and Support, an ALB of the Ministry of Defence. He joined the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Non-Executive Director in 2024 and is Chair of its Audit Committee. Nick is a member of the Natural Environment Research Council and was appointed Chair of the NERC/BAS Operations and Safety Assurance Group in April 2025.

This event is part of the collaborative partnership between the University of Leeds and Marks and Spencer. For further information, please visit this page. 

This is a free event. Attendance is limited due to room capacity. To register, please click here.