Team size: Eight

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

The team was involved in numerous real estate and corporate M&A transactions during the last year. Among other tasks, they assisted an institutional investor with the sale of a portfolio comprising five properties and the purchase of a headquarters for another investor. Furthermore, the team handles approximately 450 rent tribunal cases for various investors on an ongoing basis.

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

In general, the in-house lawyer has a pivotal role in understanding the industry’s challenges and opportunities, and in being able to provide legal assistance well aligned with the needs of the company. The in-house lawyer – in opposition with his or her external counterpart – does not necessarily need to provide the perfectly correct answer in legal terms. Instead, the need is for a firm understanding of the risk and resources faced by the company in every possible scenario and the ability to incorporate this in the counselling.

In the real estate sector, the in-house lawyer needs to be able to navigate a diverse sector comprising a variety of occupations, some of which have very profound jargon and values. To truly be able to succeed in the real estate sector, you also need a genuine interest in “bricks and mortar”, to be able to provide the best advice to colleagues who have a deep technical understanding and need clear guidance on construction disputes.

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

First and foremost, the legal department needs to be accessible and display a genuine interest in how the business works and what drives the business forward. We always try to avoid being the “nay-sayers” and instead, pursue a mindset of finding solutions that takes risk and resources into account. It is pivotal for me that we never leave a colleague with more questions than they came to us with in the first place.

We also do our utmost to be visible through knowledge sharing, in-house tuition, and participation in house projects among others.

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

I am particularly devoted to the – very much needed – digitalisation of the real estate industry. There is a large unsolved potential regarding digitalisation that can save not only resources, but also mitigate the risk for errors, especially in the property management industry.

The real estate industry is on the right path, but there is still much to be done, and the need for new legislation is profound. That is why I participate in several committees at Dansk Industri (DI Ejendomme) and EjendomDanmark, to ensure that the interests of the real estate industry are best served, and the need for new legislation is heard.