Around the house

Barclays has appointed Victoria Hardy to the role of general counsel for the bank's investment banking arm in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Ms Hardy has served in a variety of roles since joining Barclays from Clifford Chance in 2005, including head of group M&A legal and, most recently, head of banking legal in Europe and the Middle East. Ms Hardy will succeed former investment banking GC Simon Croxford, who was promoted to the post of deputy legal chief in August last year. She will be based in the bank's offices in London and will report directly to Barclays' global legal chief Mark Shelton.

Meanwhile, UK government-sponsored reinsurance fund Flood Re has named former RPC lawyer Harriet Boughton as its first ever general counsel. Ms Boughton joins Flood Re from casualty insurance company ProSight Specialty Insurer, where she pioneered the company's first in-house legal function as head of legal and compliance. Set to launch in April, Flood Re is tasked with making flood insurance affordable for UK households in high-risk flooding areas. As GC, Ms Boughton will oversee the insurer's compliance with 'complex statutory and regulatory requirements' and manage Flood Re's particular public accountablity obligations.

In the US, Ascena Retail Group has announced that Duane Holloway will step into the role of senior vice president and general counsel, effective immediately. Ascena is the parent company of several women's fashion chains, including Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant and DressBarn. Mr Holloway joins Ascena from real estate data analytics and services firm CoreLogic, where he held the role of vice president and deputy general counsel. Mr Holloway practiced corporate law with international firm Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells) before coming in-house with executive leadership roles at Caesars Entertainment Corporation. 

Bank of Montreal chief compliance officer Lisa Rodriguez is exiting the bank in order to take up the post of general counsel at financial services provider IFG Group. She replaces outgoing general counsel Conleth O'Reilly, who has held the joint role of GC and company secretary since 2010. Ms Rodriguez is qualified to practice law in New York, the UK and Ireland, where the London and Dublin-listed IFG Group is headquartered.

Finally, property fund LendInvest has also recruited its first ever general counsel. Simmons & Simmons banking lawyer Ruth Pearson will step into the role after seven years with the firm, the last six months of which she served as a managing associate for its banking team. As LendInvest's GC, Ms Pearson will be tasked with creating streamlined and efficient legal processes for the fast growing company, working in close cooperation with its head of compliance and credit. It is not yet known whether Ms Pearson will review LendInvest's existing roster of outside legal advisers, which includes Brecher, Brightstone Law, Osborne Clarke and Seddons.