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Robert Owens, head of legal for Ireland at Danske Bank, mentions two projects that he recalls particularly fondly among the other successes he has had with the company since joining in 2009. ‘In terms of highlights’, he explains, ‘one was managing the change in business model from an Irish bank to a cashless retail bank, where I was involved in negotiating with a provider and managing the transfer of that business. Another would be that we were one of the first banks to offer mobile apps in Ireland, in around 2011, which required me to display my expertise in digitisation and dealing with tech in banking’. Managing the business model change required Owens to think on his feet and develop a versatility that he looks to continue within the legal function, prizing ‘flexibility and openness to change’ particularly highly. ‘The effects of the Irish financial crisis were particularly keenly felt’, he recalls, ‘and led to the winding up of part of our business. Managing legal affairs through a time of exceptional change to the strategic direction of the bank as a whole involved decentralization and reorganising the team to attach lawyers directly to business units’. Owens, always looking to tailor his legal advice as much as possible to the specific needs of the business, advises other in-house legal counsel to know their businesses inside out. ‘I would like to see a move on the part of in-house counsel to be more of a business partner’, says Owens, ‘as there is a need to really see as much of the business as possible. Alongside this, proactivity in terms of dealing with problems and as much partnership as possible with the business mark out the best in-house legal teams’.