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

There has been an increase in regulation for the insurance industry over the past year, which has involved the legal and compliance team reviewing and responding to the Treasury’s Quality of Advice Review and assisting the business with the adoption of the industry code of practice. This regulatory work has required the legal team to work with many stakeholders across the business to implement the necessary regulatory changes for our day-to-day business operations and ensure the project is completed in accordance with all project requirements.

Due to these regulatory projects and the business’ continued merger and acquisition activity, there continues to be a significant demand for legal support beyond our day-to-day duties. We have a fantastic group of lawyers in the team, including those we have brought on in this last year to help us keep up with demand. As we have expanded the team, a challenge has been ensuring that the team remains connected and continues to support one another whilst we operate in a hybrid working environment. In my role as head of legal, I always seek to be a strong mentor for my team and to continue to support the development of their legal careers.

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

Given resourcing challenges for in-house teams and the need to free up time to work on more strategic endeavours, I expect there will be a continued push by in-house teams to identify activities that can be automated or managed through self-service systems. In-house teams will seek to design legal processes and services with a focus on opportunities for improved workflow, document automation, contract and document management, and legal technology that facilitates contract generation.

I am excited for bill-analysing technology to develop and subsequently assist in-house teams with automated reviews of outside counsel invoices, which will ensure that invoices align with outside counsel billing guidelines and that in-house teams, and the company, receive value for time and money.

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

The insurance industry is a unique industry built on relationships. Within it, it is crucial for an in-house lawyer to have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong relationships with various key stakeholders (including carriers, clients, regulators, and claims management providers). I find the best way to do this is to take an interest in people and to understand the important role that each person plays both in the business and across our broader industry. An in-house lawyer must be able to communicate in a clear and concise way and be able to adapt their communications to the relevant audience.

The insurance broking industry is rapidly evolving and companies must adapt within a competitive market. It’s also important to have a strong regulatory and governance focus. Reputation is paramount for any organisation, and you must constantly have sound judgment and a regard for the longer-term company implications when advising on a legal matter.

Given the broad scope of our industry, an in-house lawyer needs to accept that you are not an expert in every area of the law. You need to show a willingness to ask your team and other subject matter experts for help when necessary. To be successful you also need to be able to effectively juggle competing deadlines, be commercial and be willing to make tough decisions when necessary.