GC Influencers
Most Influential GCs - Global-wide
Eric Nitcher of BP International Ltd
Eric Nitcher ascended to BP’s group general counsel role in 2017 after playing a leading part in perhaps one of the most challenging episodes in the oil giant’s history, having performed a key role in the settlement of government claims relating to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Nitcher has a deep legal history within the oil industry, having joined Amoco in 1990 and held roles advising on transactional issues and disputes work at BP, including advising on the TNK-BP joint venture for oil production in Russia. Among Nitcher’s first tasks upon assuming the top legal position was to begin a panel review of the BP’s panel of external legal counsel, with the company advising law firms that they would be required to pitch for mandates valued at more than USD1 million in an effort to increase cost efficiency. Nitcher wins many admirers in the legal market for his “very strategic thinking” and “detail oriented” approach, with one commentator reporting: “Eric is one of the most business-like general counsel that I’ve worked with – it’s more like working with a CEO than a general counsel.”