Team size: 12

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

In the past year, we successfully contributed to the drafting and conclusion of a new public service contract with the Danish state for operating trains in Denmark over the coming ten years.

Furthermore, we advised on the legal aspects related to the development and launch of a digital solution on DSB’s app (called Check Ind), where the customers can purchase a ticket for their journey by checking in and out directly on their phone.

We are also deeply involved in preparing DSB’s taking over of the full sector responsibility for the S-trains, including infrastructure, from 2027. From a legal perspective, this involves changing railway-specific regulation and managing interfaces with Banedanmark.

Finally, we have spent a lot of time and effort familiarising ourselves with sustainability regulation, including implementing new clauses in our contracts that ensure access to relevant data for reporting requirements, as well as adapting our Code of Conduct. This journey has only just begun but will undoubtedly become increasingly important in the years to come.

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

To be successful as an in-house lawyer, it is required that you possess the ability to balance legal risks with commercial needs and that you deliver practical and solution-oriented advice. Instead of making the law a barrier, it is important to use the law to support business goals. This involves suggesting alternatives if the solution the business had in mind is not legally feasible.

In addition, as always, it is important that we make ourselves available for sparring, that we meet deadlines and make sure to align expectations, but also that we challenge the business and bring in other perspectives, where it adds value.

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

We have a business partner set-up which means that each member of the legal department is primarily dedicated to specific business units. The close cooperation helps the team members gain a profound understanding of the business units’ strategy and must-win battles, and further helps build a closer relationship on a personal level, which eventually adds up to being a trusted advisor.

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

I see two very important topics the coming year, one being sustainability and the other being AI. Both subjects play an important role, both from a societal and legal perspective.

With regard to sustainability, we have only just started the journey. The legal department plays an important role in clarifying the rules and their scope, adapting contracts, and assisting in a process to obtain necessary data from the value chain.

Particularly regarding AI, I am interested in how we in the legal team can use AI to support us in our daily work, both to improve quality and to work more efficiently. I believe it is a must-win battle for legal departments to apply AI as a tool.