What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Our legal department at Renner managed to position itself as a strategic business partner to all other departments within our group. We are constantly appraised for being fast, objective and business driven. I believe we did so, by comprising some important drivers as follows, a constant self-awareness as to our duty, deep legal knowledge regarding the corporate business, which allows us to always be more precise in our assessments, and a constant concern to demonstrate to all our business partners that we are always there for them. Internally, we have created a legal operations area which oversees several important non-legal activities such as budget management and controlling.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

In my opinion, it is very important. We are always focused on working with partners whose values we share, such as being ethical and transparent. Additionally, it is very important for us to work with partners who really position themselves as to a legal question, instead of someone who will be on the fence.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

More tools to manage legal data is something that must be worked on. Our mentality in our daily routine should also be more shaped towards simplicity and objectivity. The legal environment has a lot of opportunities for being simpler and more effective, such as petitions in lawsuits, legal opinions, and contracts, should all be less complex and easier to manage.

As we live in a fast-paced world today, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

For me, in addition to an in-house counsel’s legal knowledge, I would highlight the need to have the ability to always be understood fast, avoiding technical terms, and making your business partners realise that you are always there for them, no matter what, are all important skills to succeed in the modern in-house industry.