Team size: five

Can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently?

The legal department of Greiner Bio-One handles all legal cases for the group, which consists of 27 entities around the globe and seven production sites. Legal services range from contract drafting, negotiation and execution, corporate governance, M&A transactions, GDPR compliance, patent and trademark, advice on several matters and public affairs.

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

The pandemic has accelerated the turn to remote working and technology — virtual exchange of information and advice, chat functions and videoconferencing. Although the capacity of modern IT tools has enabled the viability of the business, keeping its operations going; the biggest challenge in which we succeeded has been to maintain the excellent spirit of the team and find appropriate alternatives to in-person conversations in the hallway, providing platforms for professional and private, informal exchange between members.

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

We are currently deeply engaged in the digitalisation of our legal department. Primarily, we are offering tools to our key internal clients to facilitate automated contracts using mechanisms to ensure compliance in line with our standards and best practices.