Team size: Ten 

What are some of your main tips for dealing with a crisis?    

The most important thing is to keep the team calm so that we can work together to analyse the risks and consequences of the crisis and divide the work to reduce, eliminate or manage its consequences. The worst thing that can happen in a time of crisis is when each member of the team takes isolated initiatives because actions may conflict and lead to an increase in workload. 

The best way to keep the team calm, carry out objective analyses, and delineate responsibility is by meeting with them frequently; be transparent when taking stock of the crisis; be motivating and reassuring; jointly define clear lines of intervention and; divide tasks to reflect these guidelines. 

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?  

It is very important to work with external lawyers who share and understand my company’s values. 
This sharing of values allows for a better relationship with external lawyers because the same basic principles will be part of analysing the problem and finding solutions.  

A company that highly values its employees cannot have the same efficiency and performance when working with external lawyers for whom every question of profitability and HR involves firing employees; the relationship would simply not work, and the time wasted explaining problems and framing the impact of solutions will be enormous. 

It should be noted that the assessment of alignment with my company’s values and principles is not based on what is said or referred to in the “beauty parades” of the external lawyers’ offices, but on their concrete actions (not just monetary donations to certain causes). 

This is why when choosing and selecting external lawyers, we always ask not only for their values, vision, and mission, but also for all the pro-bono work they do. 

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?   

When we talk today about technological development in law, it is unavoidable to talk about artificial intelligence and the impact it has on the application and use of current software. 

 In my experience, the use of artificial intelligence in contract lifecycle management has a major impact, not only on the creation of contract summary sheets, such as alarm forecasts, but especially in helping lawyers compare external contracts and compare each clause with the clauses usually accepted by the company.  

A future challenge will be AI’s ability to read and understand the company’s governance rules and existing delegations of power, so that company operatives can ask the artificial intelligence to sign and bind the company to a certain contract.