Rosemary Martin is lawyer of the year

Reuters’ last general counsel and company secretary Rosemary Martin (photo) was named Lawyer of the Year at the Legal Business Awards in London.

Martin spent 11 years with Reuters, leaving in May 2008 soon after the takeover by Thomson.

Now in the same role at telecommunications group Vodafone, she was described as being “at the top of her game”.

In 2014 she oversaw huge commercial transformation within the business, including the largest deal of the year in Vodafone’s disposal of a 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion to Verizon. She had also been “single-handedly pioneering the delivery of an in-house legal service to Vodafone that is as cost-effective, flexible and supportive as any”. She was “a standout example and role model for the in-house legal industry and wider profession generally”.

Martin became Vodafone’s top legal officer in 2010. ■