Sarah Barrett-Vane
Freelance/Interim Legal Operations Consultant & Bid Writer, SBV Consulting
Sarah was the Director of Legal Operations at Royal Mail plc (RMG) from 2012-17, when she left to pursue freelance opportunities. At RMG, Sarah was responsible for managing the legal budget, running all legal panel reviews/appointments alongside the GC, and managing the company’s law firms and other legal suppliers. She was accountable for the operational aspects of a team of c. 80 people, investigating and implementing legal technology – such as an ebilling system and contract automation tool – whilst continually improving processes.
Prior to that, Sarah was a lawyer for 13 years, private practice then in-house, before moving into a Contract & Procurement Manager role at the Legal Aid Agency (MOJ). She joined RMG’s procurement team in 2009, carrying out the company’s first legal panel review for RMG and the Post Office (pre-IPO). In 2012 Sarah moved across to Group Legal to work directly for GC Neil Harnby (and then Maaike de Bie) as Director of Legal Operations.
Sarah now provides consultancy services for in-house legal departments, law firms and legal technology companies, including:
– legal procurement/panel reviews – public & private sector
– legal technology implementation/process improvements for in-house teams
– bid writing for legal services providers.