Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Policy definition

What does Policy mean? In property practice, particularly in Scotland, policy (often policies) describes the grounds of a house—typically the garden, drives, parkland and other enclosed land associated with a dwelling, often within a boundary or policy wall. It is a descriptive conveyancing term rather than a defined statutory concept, but is well‑established in Scots property usage and title deeds. The term is used to identify what land is conveyed or retained with a house, to interpret real burdens and servitudes affecting the grounds (for example, maintenance of policy walls, tree controls or access routes), and to assess privacy and public access. In Scotland, guidance...

Structuring in-house legal functions: centralised and distributed models, pros and cons, hybrid solutions, and geographical challenges

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Practice notes

Differences between distributed and centralised legal functions

This Practice Note explores contrasts between distributed and centralised legal teams, outlining the advantages and the drawbacks for each. It also covers hybrid approaches and the geographical issues they raise, including location-driven challenges and constraints.

In commercial organisations—and indeed within national government policy—it is common for power and operational independence to be handed to local units, later pulled back to the centre again, with the pattern recurring over time. Motivated by ideology and practicalities in both spheres, such shifts regularly reshape in-house legal structures; only infrequently do general counsel enjoy the discretion to decide for themselves. Typically, there are two straightforward models:

to centralise the function within a core team serving the business from a co-ordinated corporate centre
to decentralise the function, placing lawyers alongside the specific business teams they support

Neither approach is inherently superior in absolute terms...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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