What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

My greatest challenge was wrapped in a blessing! The Covid-driven acceleration of workplace flexibility has greatly benefited me. Working from home, in a different state or country from my team members, has allowed me, as a single mum, to continue doing meaningful, challenging work and leading great people while much better balancing my time with my daughter and allowing access to the family for support. Last year we completed an AUD$3.1bn capital raise and acquired an interest in a US toll road while working from my home office on the Sunshine Coast. I have worked with remote teams for most of my career; however, even then, I still went to the office every day. My biggest challenge with remote working is not having the stimulation and connection with colleagues that working from the office brings and consistently making the additional effort required to foster workplace connections, properly mentor junior staff, and gain the valuable information that flowed when office-based work was the norm.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

In-house teams add the most value in the gap between the business and the myriad of relevant laws, regulations, contractual details, ESG and ethical responsibilities relevant to delivering on strategy. Their role is to help synthesise all of this into a clear, actionable execution plan, which delivers the outcomes the business desires. Technological advancements will change how we execute our roles, absorbing work from the lower value add, time-intensive tasks. New skills will be required, and resourcing needs will change, but modern technology will not overly impact our purpose. We will long be required to act as the sounding board, devil’s advocate, and problem solvers of the business. We must continually test and adopt new technologies as tools to enable us to perform better and more efficiently. AI-powered research and standard contract drafting can save time and external costs. Collaborative working technologies allow us to better work remotely, and across geographies. Less time is required for administrative tasks and less review work in managing projects and discovery. More time and a rethought approach will be required for teaching and mentoring junior staff, where AI now performs the old ‘bread and butter’ learning work. However, we will still be required to advise and guide management with an eye to the whole of the business, its long-term objectives and its reputation.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

To succeed, an in-house lawyer must distil and articulate the ‘big picture’ direction from many threads, clever ideas and competing priorities. Honouring and navigating the connections between joint venture partners, bondholders, governments, investors, road users, and the communities in which our roads exist can be complex but is always interesting. Fortunately, the people with whom I work are all clever, adaptable and experts in their fields – half the time, the real quality I need to have is simply the smarts and work ethic to keep up with them!