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?

We are facing a significant transformation of our business model. Originally a print newspaper and magazine company, we are now shifting towards an increasingly digital and diversified business model. In addition to this transformation phase, like many other companies, we are experiencing a sharp increase in costs due to the global developments. Moreover, the competitive pressure from major US digital platforms is immense. In this situation, our legal strategy is to consistently support the business in every possible way, legally and also as a trusted advisor. This involves establishing focus areas where we train our lawyers to specialise in fields such as competition law or IT law (with a further emphasis on AI). Additionally, we are reviewing our processes and resource allocation to make them even more effective in contributing to cost reduction. However, the most crucial task is to continuously evaluate the measures taken and adjust them to the needs of the business

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?

Successful formation of a marketing joint venture with other publishers. The transaction was highly complex. First in terms of the negotiations between the joint venture partners regarding the corporate and operational parameters. Second – almost even more challenging – obtaining merger control clearance from the competition authorities.

Advising on a syndicated loan with a total financing volume of €500m, including a revolving credit line for the greatest possible flexibility and freedom, with which the FUNKE Media Group secures financial leeway for the next phase of the transformation and digitisation strategy. For the first time, the financing was linked to a possible future ESG component. By achieving the sustainability targets, FUNKE could benefit from a reduced margin in financing in the future.

How have you integrated technology into your legal processes, and what impact has this had on efficiency and compliance?

We have a very diverse business. This diversity makes standardising processes a challenge. Nevertheless, our goal is to streamline these processes for efficiency while also taking adequate risk allocation into account. To this end, we are currently implementing new legal matter management software and directly related to this, we are modifying some aspects of the matter intake process. These changes will allow us to allocate resources in a manner that enables them to achieve full efficiency, supported by digitised workflows.

What do you see as the major legal challenges for businesses in Germany over the next five years, and how are you preparing to address them?

I see AI as major challenge – but also as a big chance – for legal departments. Currently, AI is not yet a real support in legal departments, but that will change—it’s only a matter of time. We need to equip our employees with the knowledge and skills to engage with this technology effectively. I am confident that legal work will not be done exclusively by AI in the future. However, it will certainly be carried out by lawyers who know how to utilise AI.