Russell Reynolds tracks a cautious FTSE 350 GC hiring market

Russell Reynolds’ analysis of FTSE 350 general counsel hiring says companies changing GCs in 2025 overwhelmingly selected experienced external hires, with 10 of 12 appointments made from outside the organization. For firms, the signal is that legal leadership remains too critical for speculative appointments, and relationship strategies should account for experienced GCs arriving with established expectations and outside-counsel preferences.

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Source References

• KPMG launches 2026 Global General Counsel Outlook — KPMG
• FTI and Relativity say corporate legal AI adoption has nearly doubled — Relativity
• Thomson Reuters says UK legal buyers want commercial judgment, not expertise alone — Thomson Reuters Institute
• Wolters Kluwer frames AI as a billable-hour and business-model pressure — Wolters Kluwer
• BigHand and Ayora link pricing, budgeting and AI matter intelligence — BigHand
• BigHand conference emphasizes intelligence before the pricing decision — BigHand
• Litera brings Foundation 365 client intelligence into Microsoft 365 — Litera
• Legal IT Insider frames Foundation 365 as a CRM adoption play — Legal IT Insider
• BTI Client Service A-Team 2026 focuses on the 17 client-service behaviors buyers value — BTI Consulting
• Case Status Legal CX Report shows a satisfaction-to-advocacy gap — Case Status
• AI buyer behavior is changing how legal services are found — JD Supra
• RelativityOne’s Claude connector turns client operations reporting conversational — Relativity
• Chambers says GCs value strategic legal advice rooted in commercial realities — Chambers and Partners
• Russell Reynolds tracks a cautious FTSE 350 GC hiring market — Russell Reynolds Associates