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

My number one challenge over the last year has been ensuring that my team responds effectively and empathetically to the deteriorating economic conditions and their impact on our customers. Another significant challenge has been responding to the dramatic increase in fraud and scams. We have been focusing on prevention, education and supporting our customers who are victims of scams and fraud.

The adaptability and resilience of my team have been tested through a time of yet more change. We have moved from adapting to pandemic lockdowns to making the new hybrid working model operate successfully for the legal team, the business, and the customers. At the same time, we have faced new customer and business needs in the worsening economic environment.

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

I am always excited to see how new technology can improve the way our legal team works and how we can enhance the value we provide to the business and our customers.

Over the last year, we have applied new technology to create a Legal Front Door at NAB. Much like your home’s front door, it acts as the main entrance to the legal team.

Most parts of the business now visit our team through this digital front door, being asked a series of questions to direct them to the right team. It also answers questions or problems by applying decision trees and FAQs. It also provides our lawyers with the correct information and documents to be able to start helping immediately rather than needing to gather information first. We are currently developing our next iteration based on business feedback, including ‘door bells’ leveraging human-centred design to better guide visitors to the particular ‘front door’ or legal service they need – even if they are not familiar with legal language – or know what it is they are looking for!

Initial scepticism from the business was overcome by training and their good experience of the new approach – faster response times; going directly to the person or automated solution most able to help them with their problem; and receiving clarity about when their question or concern will be answered and by whom. The data from the Legal Front Door is rich: it shows how many requests are coming to legal, on what topics and from which parts of the business. We can use that to help with workforce planning. It enables us to identify products and processes in the bank, giving rise to problems which can be fed back to the business for improvement.

We continue to scan for new technology to further improve workload issues and work mix for our Legal team. Technology can and is helping us alleviate some workload –particularly in low-value, repeatable work types. This reduces pressure on individuals and enables them to spend their time being strategic advisers to the business and working on more rewarding, higher-value work.

Looking further into the future, I see a time when artificial intelligence begins to benefit our in-house teams. We are experimenting with it, adopting a test-and-learn approach to build knowledge and capability in this fast-evolving space.

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

It is critical for in-house lawyers working in banks to develop a deep understanding and empathy for what our bankers, stakeholders and customers want and need. They must also have courage – the courage to advise what the bank can do and what it should do.

I would like to see in-house lawyers being more curious and expert in applying technology and data, and analytics to their roles.