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

Joining BCB Group 30 weeks pregnant certainly comes to mind when I get asked what the number one challenge of the past year has been. You might think I was prepared since it was my second child… well, here is what I learned from this challenging year:

The best opportunities always come at the best times. Even when it seems challenging, jumping on a new opportunity is always thrilling and rewarding.

Multitasking is great but can be your worst enemy if not careful. Time blocking with the pomodoro method is the best productivity tool.

It is all about quality and not quantity. Too often, lawyers are trained to think that it is all about how much we can produce with as little time spent as possible. When I first moved in-house, I quickly realised that it is not about how much you can bill or produce but rather how much value and impact you can have on a project and a company. This past year has remained for me the year of increased productivity and high impact legal advice (not to mention skyrocketing personal growth).

Do you have an example of a time when you have come up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works that did not result in a large expense?

When I took my previous role of head of legal, Europe at Bitstamp, I realised that the legal team seemed disconnected from the rest of the business. The disconnect was such that I considered it a legal hazard. A huge portion of our job as in-house counsel is to prevent legal risks. My solution was simple. Create a bridge of communication. I insisted that the legal team use the same communication means as the rest of the business. Allowing other departments to create tickets with the legal teams as they would with an IT support team changed the entire communication flow. Suddenly the legal team was visible and used the same channels as the rest of the business. I then insisted that the legal team go on a little roadshow, presenting the team to the rest of the business on a regular basis, joining weekly and monthly meetings with other teams for example. All of those little tricks changed the entire perception of the legal function. We became an ally rather than a roadblock. It came at no cost, well except the cost of having to grow the legal team as a result of the surge in demand for legal support.

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

In my industry, being the crypto/fintech industry, you certainly need to be creative, adaptable and think outside the box. Most products you will encounter in my industry would not fit in a box or a standard legal definition. You have to constantly think outside the box and challenge yourself to find solutions to issues that no one is likely to have faced before. Creativity is a good quality to have in a professional environment. It is a key characteristic of the most successful in-house lawyers I have met and worked with in this industry. Finally, adaptability is crucial; market conditions can change in a very short period of time (some may say in a matter of seconds) in the crypto industry specifically. Being able to shift your mindset quickly to face periods of uncertainty will be your best weapon of choice to survive in this industry.