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

Moving into a regional role with a lean team has challenged and developed me over the past year. In my previous role, I worked closely with the part of the business I supported, enabling me to understand the business and partner closely with that team. Expanding into a regional role, with a remit across all CSL businesses (we have four), I have had to be very proactive in learning about various parts of the business and expanding my internal networks while being laser-focused on how I spend my time. In addition, and as any privacy professional would attest to, it is an ongoing challenge to keep across the evolving legal landscape, to ready the business for change and to operationalise local requirements in a way that aligns with our internal global framework and makes sense for the company, but that is what makes privacy such a dynamic and enjoyable space to work in at the moment.

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

It would be remiss of me not to mention AI, with all the recent discussion around this topic in various legal communities. However, I do not think that AI or any other technology, current or emerging, is likely to impact the role of in-house legal teams adversely. As the Hon Clare O’Neil MP — Minister for Home Affairs Minister for Cyber Security — recently said, ‘the digital age presents enormous opportunities’. In the case of in-house legal teams, these are opportunities to provide more efficient and effective service, streamline working methods, and provide more innovative solutions to our business clients. Technological advancement is exciting, and the tools we now have at our fingertips (and not always at a high cost) enable us to automate and scale many routine, procedural tasks for consistency and enhanced service delivery. This, in turn, frees up our time to do what is most important – closely partnering with our business clients to provide high-quality legal advice and counsel in a more considered and strategic way.

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

It has long been said that in-house lawyers need to be more than just technical experts, but increasingly so today as we navigate emerging technologies, complex organisational structures, and geo-political and economic uncertainty. We need to understand technology, business strategy, the external environment and the social and political factors that may impact businesses. We need to be solutions focussed, skilled in stakeholder engagement and management, and strong business partners. Ultimately, if you have a passion for your work, an innate curiosity, and a willingness to learn, develop and adapt, then you are halfway there. The rest comes down to people – invest in relationships and make yourself available to the people you work with, so you can build a relationship as a trusted advisor and someone the business can rely on.