Team size: Six 

Major legal advisers: DLA Piper, Fiedlfisher, GOP, LMS    

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense? 

LISA Legal Bot, a legal chat bot which answers to simple legal questions in the Teams chat concerning different fields (corporate, criminal, data privacy, real estate, labour, compliance, etc.). I have the avatar of LISA at the bottom of my email signature and by clicking on the icon Michelin Italiana’s employees can access to the chat bot. LISA helps the legal team to focus on activities at high added value by delegating simple legal questions to the chat itself.  

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?    

General counsel will experience epochal changes over the next five years. Legal departments will need to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies, contract automation and have the legal operations officer figure who promotes the efficiency of the legal department through better planning.  

They will be strategic actors, actively involved in the decision-making process, they will have to think like a lawyer but act like managers, have a proactive attitude and oriented to out-of-the-box solutions, dynamic, flexible and above all digital.  

They have also been excellent ambassadors, spokespersons for corporate values and sustainability experts, be open to external solicitations and be open to innovation. 

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?   

Michelin Italiana’s sustainability strategy is based on the “All Sustainable” strategy, also called the 3 “Ps” strategy, which constantly leads the group in achieving and optimal balance between care for the people (people), environmental protection of the planet (planet) and economic development (profit). By means of this strategy, the group states its desire to advance in all economic, environmental and social indicators, promoting innovation, fairness, safety, and good industrial practices, and to achieve its objectives within 2030. General counsel must be the ambassador for these corporate values.