Team size: Six

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

The main issue that we have faced in the last year is difficulties in recruiting firm personnel to Luxembourg. A country like Luxembourg relies heavily on attracting young talent from a global pool since the country lacks sufficient domestic human resources. Unfortunately, Covid-19 had a very strong impact on this aspect of the business strategy. Covid-19 also changed the way we worked, which has affected the willingness of prospective talent to start or continue a career in a more traditional firm where in-office presence is more or less required.

To navigate this challenge, we have worked to explore imaginative solutions that require strong support from the legal department. Some of the solutions we have developed include renting satellite offices near the country’s border, deploying a work-from-home policy, and launching a freelancer program.

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?

The main operational innovation that we developed over the last year concerned the intervention of the legal team in the supplier and client engagement process. When the legal department is guiding the contract management team, we can quickly detect issues that might impact the terms or outcomes of our contracts with our suppliers and clients. This has proven especially helpful when dealing with complex master agreements or recurring non-standard contracts. This innovation was driven by the internal human resources of the legal team and the time dedicated by this resource is time ‘won’ back in the shortened negotiation period.

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

I think the main qualities we need are flexibility and patience. The ever-changing regulatory environment and the intelligence and creativity of advisory teams makes flexibility a must for an in-house lawyer. A good lawyer also needs patience, for they cannot rush an answer. It takes time to uncover potential hidden consequences and understand the internal levers that might move each decision. Whilst machine-learning and contract-review tools are more and more common in the market, it is the intelligence of the lawyer what makes them invaluable to the organisation.