Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

counsel definition

What does counsel mean? In UK and Irish legal practice, counsel means the specialist court advocate instructed to represent a party and to advise, including by giving a written Counsel’s opinion. In England & Wales and Northern Ireland it ordinarily refers to a barrister; in Scotland, to an advocate; in Ireland, to a barrister. The term is descriptive rather than defined by statute, but is widely used in case law and court practice. Counsel are typically instructed by solicitors (under a brief or instructions to counsel) to settle pleadings, appear at trials and hearings, and conduct advocacy before courts and tribunals. References to leading counsel...

Curated index of Crafty Counsel videos for in-house legal teams: leadership, ethics and culture, ESG, disputes, negotiation, legal operations and metrics

Published by a LexisNexis In-house Advisor expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note gathers a consolidated LiST of Crafty counsel videos available within Lexis+® In-house Advisor. Further videos can be found on the Crafty Counsel website.

New to role Video Mini-summary

Crafty Counsel video: Your first 100 days as General Counsel—carving out the General Counsel's role
In this bite-sized video from Crafty Counsel, first posted 08.10.2019, coach and former GC Emma Jelley, Alexis Alexander of Liberis, and experienced GC Xavier Langlois explore how General Counsel should define accountability for their function—including setting boundaries on what the Legal team is not for. They also tackle the usual ‘hot potatoes’ that fall to legal, such as data protection, information security and employment.
Crafty Counsel video: What makes a great in-house leader?
This short Crafty Counsel video, first posted 23.02.23, features Nilema Bhakta Jones, Group General Counsel at the Kantar Group, on the qualities she believes define a great in-house leader.
Crafty Counsel video: Lawyer of the future
In this bite-sized video from Crafty Counsel, first posted 27.06.2024, Marie-Louise Crompton of Addleshaw Goddard explains what leading in-house legal teams prioritise for people development to ensure...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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