How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

The key to successful crisis management is communication and close co-operation with all stakeholders. I place a lot of emphasis on establishing the necessary relationships before a crisis occurs. Building trust takes time, especially in an international context. But if a crisis hits, it can be devastating if information is held back due to a lack of trust, or measures not swiftly implemented.

Once a situation occurs, the first priority is to get the full picture. In such circumstances, I want to speak to colleagues across relevant departments to assess the situation comprehensively. Understanding the legal implications early allows for informed decision-making and ensures the organisation remains compliant while navigating uncertainties.

I also focus on scenario planning and legal risk assessments to anticipate potential issues and create adaptive strategies. Following daily news as well as legal and industry publications helps to identify possible implications early and consider options.

What do you derive the most satisfaction from in your work?

Definitely from the “people” part. Working with people of different professional backgrounds from all over the world provides me every day with new perspectives on things I thought I know.

How do you display creativity in your role?

Creativity is becoming more and more important for in-house counsel to appropriately address the growing complexity of regulation and increasing speed of the business world. I draw a lot of inspiration from legal design methods and try to utilise these as often as possible. Legal documents invariably benefit from streamlining and fresh ideas, putting the non-legal user into the center of considerations. The same is true for processes, which have often been overlooked alltogether by legal professionals. Reviewing these with an open mind can bring huge benefits to the business.