Around the house

Accountancy giant KPMG has brought in Jeremy Barton as the firm's new general counsel. Mr Barton will replace outgoing legal chief Vanessa Sharp, who retired from the company in May after holding the role of general counsel since 1996. Mr Barton joins KPMG from Boston Consulting Group, where he also served as general counsel. At KPMG, he will oversee a legal arm comprised of more than 60 lawyers (including five assistant general counsels). Its revenues are expected to exceed the £10 million target set when KPMG obtained its multi-disciplinary ABS license last October. It is understood that Boston Consulting Group is now on the hunt for a new general counsel.

Australian-listed firm Slater & Gordon has named Moana Weir as the group's new general counsel. Ms Weir joins Slater & Gordon following a five-year stint as GC for Australian recruitment agency Seek. She will replace outgoing legal chief Kirsten Morrison, who has exited the role of group GC after an eight-year tenure. She is to relocate to London and take up the position of Slater & Gordon's UK general counsel, working closely alongside UK and Europe CEO Ken Fowlie. Slater & Gordon has faced increased scrutiny in the UK since its acquisition of Quindell's professional services arm earlier this year, as the Serious Fraud Office investigates an admission by Quindell that it had over-stated profits for 2014.

Oil and gas services company Wood Group has announced that current general counsel and company secretary Robbie Brown will exit the role at the end of this year, launching a search for his successor. The news of Mr Brown's upcoming departure follows an earlier announcement made by the Aberdeen-based company that current CEO Bob Keiller will also be leaving his role at the end of the year. Mr Brown has served as a member of Wood Group's executive board since 2010, and is responsible for its legal, compliance and company secretarial functions. A statement from Wood Group announcing Mr Brown's departure has made clear that the search for a new general counsel is already underway.

Boston-based venture capital firm OpenView Venture Partners has named Rufus King as the company's first ever chief legal officer. Mr King, whose career-long focus on venture capital and entrepreneurship has spanned both the private and academic sectors, joins OpenView after serving as the inaugural director for Villanova Law School's newly-launched Centre for Law and Entrepreneurship. Founded in 2006, OpenView focuses on expansion-stage B2B software and technology ventures, and currently has nearly US$700m in total capital under management.

Canadian Pacific announced last week that current general counsel and corporate secretary Paul Guthrie will be retiring in the first quarter of 2016, after more than 25 years with the company. Mr Guthrie will be succeeded by incoming chief legal officer and corporate secretary Jeffrey J. Ellis, who joins the company after serving as executive vice-president, US general counsel, for BMO Financial Group. Following his retirement from his current role, Mr Guthrie will stay connected with CP as special counsel to chief executive officer E. Hunter Harrison.