Team size: 12

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Atos IT Solutions and Services is in a transformational process, and one of the most significant projects that we have been working on recently is the transformation of the Atos Group into two distinct separate companies – Eviden and Atos (Tech Foundations). The project has involved collaborating with every area of the business, including sales, procurement, finance, HR, tax, and outside consultants and partners. The project has required a very comprehensive due diligence and analysis of all customer and supplier contracts; negotiating assignments of these contract; as well as coordinating global cooperation agreements between the two new groups and much more.

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

An in-house legal counsel needs to have a deep understanding of the business we work in. Our customer – the company – wants clear and simple legal advice, that can be easily implemented in concrete operational actions.

In-house legal counsel should also excel at stakeholder management. They should be able to balance the law and the demands of external parties, often in many different jurisdictions. They should be able to talk to everyone, from the operations team to senior management.

How have you fostered a closer collaboration between the legal department and your business counterparts? 

We developed a close collaboration with business counterparts over a long period of time by delivering internal trainings and awareness sessions on legal topics, as well as having team members learn about the business areas and processes. Most importantly, we have spent time building personal relationships and getting to know each other. Having legal counsel assigned to long term projects has been very helpful in creating good working relationships.

Finally, we have prioritised a colleague centric approach, where we try to support our business counterparts by teaching and guiding them on how to seek legal advice – always making sure that we provide the help they need while also helping them to make future requests in the most efficient way.

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about? 

For many years, I have been a very active member of a global leadership organisation – Junior Chamber International, which works to educate and develop young people to become the civic and business leaders of tomorrow, with a purpose of providing personal development, international experiences, cultural understanding and a fundamental belief that by bringing young people together, we may create a better and more peaceful world for all. While I am no longer so young, the experiences and values from my many years of membership continue to drive my way of work and approach to life.