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

In 2020 and 2021, the team handled the acquisitions of an Austrian and then a Swiss business active in the marketing and distribution of CO2 makers and CO2 cylinders for home use. Those businesses are now part of the Krüger Group’s newly founded CO2 divisions. Today, this also comprises a modern, brand-new automated CO2 filling facility. The cross-border transactions in times of the Covid-19 pandemic and the building of an entirely new business division was one of the most significant achievements of the team. The CO2 home market is constantly growing in Europe, and the newly built business division will be an excellent basis to participate and benefit in this market.

Another significant achievement of the team was implementing a legal tech platform for using specific standardised smart contracts and a group-wide e-learning tool for compliance and data protection online training for Krüger.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed both the ways of working for in-house counsel and the content of our day-to-day business. While digital and remote ways of working have been successfully established through the pandemic and significantly changed the traditional approach to legal work; the disruption of worldwide supply chains, events of force majeure, frustration and hardship of contract developed from theoretical academic knowledge of serious legal issues that all legal counsel had to do deal with daily. Through the absence of personal contacts, it took a lot of work to balance and reconcile the various interests of all stakeholders.