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

A key pillar of EBOS’ strategy is investing growth, both organically and through acquisitions. We have continued to execute on our strategy, despite the challenges we have faced through the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, we announced the acquisition of LifeHealthcare for $1.167bn, which is expected to complete in FY2022. The acquisition is expected to create one of the region’s leading medical device distribution companies, providing EBOS with a platform to drive future growth and completed three acquisitions that are part of our Institutional Healthcare business: Sentry Medical, MD Solutions and Pioneer Medical. This followed on from two acquisitions in 2020. The legal team has also been involved in major projects for the Group, including the construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Australia. I have also been a part of the Group’s first ESG Committee, with the Group releasing its first sustainability report in August 2021. Our ESG strategy includes ‘Responsible Business’ covering a number of legal and compliance topics and themes.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel? 

The world of work has changed for all of us that have been going to the office. Fundamentally, we have found that we can continue to work effectively from home or the office but that it is important to set aside time to keep connections with the team and our colleagues.

For general counsels, the trend of stepping away from the strictly ‘legal’ has continued and accelerated as a result of the pandemic. I continue to be a part of the Pandemic Response Team (PRT) at EBOS, and a number of other senior in-house counsels have had similar roles in other companies. Our PRT has had to tackle head-on the risks and opportunities from the pandemic, and these been varied, novel and often extremely time pressured. It has been quite a ride; but a ride I would like to get off soon.

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

Technological advancements allowed any platforms to collaborate or to negotiate more effectively. We’ve all felt the pressures that come from the increase in email traffic as we have moved to working from home models and the days of circulating documents to large email groups are numbered. Platforms that enable documents to be tracked and edited quickly will continue to be taken up.