Team size: 25

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

In the current economic landscape and evolving regulatory regime, our in-house teams are under constant pressure to meet the needs of the business and support on a range of risk, regulatory, governance and compliance issues working with demanding and creative stakeholders. The global pandemic and turbulent economic headwinds have bought about a level of change and uncertainty that has shifted our expectations and created a new ‘normal’ in how we respond as a business and the way we work. We are expected to keep up with the pace of business change. We are expected to be agile and manage an increasingly diverse and specialised workload. We are expected to bring insight and ideas to the table and defend and protect the brand we have all worked so hard to build.

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

We have a good track record in the team of adopting and using technology to automate tasks and create efficiencies in our operations. In order to keep up with the pace and scale of business change and deliver an increasing volume, continuous improvement and becoming friends with technology is an absolute must. It will be important for all in-house risk and legal teams and the evolution of our people and the work they do to allocate prioritise resources to advance technology, data, analytics, and change management.

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

In order to succeed in our organisation, you must be collaborative, curious, courageous, commercial, and compassionate. You cannot take yourself too seriously and you must be creative in the way you deliver what people might not want to hear. We work hard, we celebrate success, and we learn from failure together. For the right people with the right skillset there is a very long and rewarding legal career in our team.