Can you tell us a little about your significant accomplishments over the last few years, as a team or by yourself?

The last few years were really a turning point in trade history, I think we changed tremendously. Our way of working has been massively impacted, as the team was separated from each other. Communication changed with the use of Zoom and other digital means. Issues such as COVID, Brexit and the Ukraine crisis have impacted the role of the lawyer. What we noticed is through this period, we (lawyers) are the light companies are turning to. Covid was an intense period, as I had to cover all the European countries and report everyday to The US about what was in place. I was also actively trying to get people to stay focused, encouraging them to be compassionate, because ultimately the more digitalisation you welcome, the more humanity and compassion you need to develop. There were other concerns at play such as with Brexit, where I had to become the bridge and the solution finder. Over the past four years, we had to become more than just lawyers and learn to handle the anxieties and stresses of colleagues and the business. I had to be extremely organised, needed to work faster, to inspire and to carry on with business as usual. I would say having done a PhD also aided me in this time, as I am no stranger to a mass of information/documentation flowing in all at once. The problem was mostly the ability to focus but I would shift things to external counsel, if necessary, as it is important to have the support of external counsel to have good steam within and outside of the company.

Have any recent political, economic or regulatory changes impacted your work? How are you dealing with this? 

I think what was very difficult was when a sanction occurs, you have a transitional period to get matters in place. The focus turns after the transitional period when the window of opportunity for ongoing contracts expires to, what can I still do? Why should I stop immediately? What can I do in the interim? It involves strategic thinking because you may have Brexit on one hand, and the issue in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine on the other. Energy issues as well in China also arose, especially with getting things out of China and sourcing raw materials in China.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected your company and the team’s priorities?

I think the state of the world now, considering issues in China and Russia, and the dependency the EU had on Russia, is indicating that it is now unaffordable to maintain split manufacturing processes. There needs to be a closer look at manufacturing processes, suppliers and compliance. All three questions are interlinked because political decision will have an impact on environment. Even considering the shocking environmental changes across the world like in Australia, Europe and beyond. All of this pushes us to rethink the way we are doing business. Lawyers are in the middle of the game, because of the complexity of the environmental issues. We must consider the strategy of the of the business, think in advance to be able to comply with multiple directives across countries which may be asking for different things concerning sustainability. We have modified how we work with external counsel, so in-house lawyers are looking for different types of communication, as we would like to trust them. We not only consider fees, but efficiency and ability to follow all updates and expertise in environmental issues.