How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience? 

Stay calm and maintain a “business as usual” approach as much as possible, while addressing the following key human and technical requirements. Focus on the critical issues that need to be assessed or resolved, ensuring continuous communication within the legal team and making decisions in a timely manner.

Prioritise the safety and well-being of the team by defining key priorities and clearly assigning or delegating tasks within the legal team. It is essential to ensure the company’s actions and initiatives during the crisis or period of instability comply with applicable laws and regulations, including data protection, employment law, and health and safety requirements.

Additionally, assess and address any potential impacts of the crisis or instability on the company’s contractual obligations with clients or suppliers. This includes evaluating risks such as financial losses, reputational damage, and operational disruptions, negotiating contract amendments, and managing potential disputes with stakeholders. Lastly, most importantly, we need to lead with empathy!

How does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience? 

The legal team must be engaged at an early stage with the management and various stakeholders. Legal needs to understand the business strategy set up by the management to address the crisis, to work with the management to align legal strategies with management strategy and legal to clearly explain its actions, and to assist the company in drafting public statements, press release, internal communications, social media communications and responses to regulatory inquiries and review communications to make sure that they comply with legal requirements and do not trigger any liability for the company.