Team size: Six

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

In late 2021, during an extremely harsh lockdown, my predecessor left the business and the reins of the legal and company secretarial team were informally handed to me at 28 years old. While I had been in the business for about four years and felt comfortable on legal matters, the secretarial matters and team management was an entirely new territory. So, after the initial disbelief and feelings of being overwhelmed, and with the support of colleagues and my boss, I learnt all secretarial matters including commencing a Graduate Diploma with the Governance Institute. I also learnt how to manage a team. Being thrown in the deep end without warning was the number one challenge that had a profound impact on me both personally and professionally in the last year.

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

I believe digital signatures; different methods of communication and scheduling or matter management technology will have the greatest impact on in-house legal teams in the future. We used to manage matters and priority levels via an Excel spreadsheet and face to face meetings. With the assistance of very talented, analytical people in our team and the business, we have moved these tasks to Microsoft Teams – using the add on functionality – and have successfully managed to remove and improve most manual processes. These improvements have enabled us to spend more time and energy on current tasks, rather instead of struggling to navigate manual and clunky administration.

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

To be a successful in-house lawyer industry in the retail space, you need to master your soft skills, to ensure you can:

Deliver pragmatic advice with influence that is in line with environmental dynamics.

Make sound judgement calls based on facts and by understanding the situation, and adaptable.

Be empathetic and understanding, yet firm and educational.

Our clients come to us with any legal matter. Hence, success in an in-house environment is developing a brand that clients view as an important source of information and guidance. It is therefore important to be inquisitive, be a good listener, ask the right questions and have retentive memory. It is also necessary to communicate effectively and build rapport.