Prestigious peer recognition for JT’s Head of Legal

Tuesday 24 March 2015

JT’s Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs has received recognition in the prestigious 2015 European Counsel Awards, which were presented at a gala event in London at the beginning of the month.

Gill Knights received the individual award in the non-financial regulatory category, positioning her as a leading light among her peers having made an outstanding contribution and demonstrating excellence within an in-house legal role. As a winner she is automatically entered into the Global Counsel Awards, which will be presented at a gala event in New York in June.

Mrs Knights said: “It was a great honour to be nominated for this prestigious award which acknowledges the work of in-house legal departments. The calibre of the other nominees was outstanding so I was both surprised and delighted to accept it. ”

Daragh McDermott, Director of Corporate Affairs said: “We are immensely proud of Gill’s achievement in what are considered to be truly prestigious awards and which this year attracted over 1,500 nominations. Gill has demonstrated professionalism every step of the way throughout her time with JT and she has played a key role in many of our business successes and growth over the last few years, so this award is very well deserved. We congratulate Gill and wish her the best of luck in the next stage of the Counsel Awards.”

Locke Lord LLP with whom JT has a long-standing partnership nominated Mrs Knights for the award. Partner, Alan Meneghetti of the Firm said: “We are absolutely delighted that Gill has won this prestigious award. Having worked with Gill for a number of years, she has always impressed with her legal knowledge and commercial commonsense. She is a great and tireless ambassador for JT and a real pleasure to work with, and all of us at Locke Lord wish her the best of luck in New York.”

The European Counsel Awards have been organised by the International Law Office (ILO) in association with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) for the past eight years to recognise lawyers and in-house legal departments around the globe for demonstrable achievements across the full spectrum of in-house responsibility.

The judging process involved the ILO team conducting in-depth analysis of in-house legal departments worldwide, receiving more than 1,500 individual nominations. Respondents were asked to focus on criteria such as effective communication, legal understanding, commercial awareness, depth and strength of team, and management skills.

Mrs Knights was educated at Beaulieu Convent School before studying for a Law degree and later achieving a Masters Degree in IT and Telecommunications Law from the University of Strathclyde. She joined JT in 1999 and is today responsible for overseeing the in-house legal requirements across the JT Group globally.