Team size: Eight

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

Most recently, we have supported the business with the drafting and negotiating of numerous agreements and with completing significant transactions across the globe, despite the challenges of Covid-19 pandemic.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

I am a great advocate for change and continuous improvements, and I believe that non-core legal work will become less important for in-house counsels soon, as these topics will mainly be performed by AI, which will affect the in-house legal team’s workflow. As an example, many legal departments still rely on manual processes and paper documentation, but automation is quickly changing that. Also, it is not hard to imagine that the legal department of the future will have some aspect of machine guided prognosis or support for legal tasks. It is also very likely that we will witness the evolution of globalisation and of sourcing and shared services. Thus, in my opinion, the challenge will be to lead the team through this big change and to find the right balance between AI and non-AI legal work.

If you had to give advice to an aspiring in-house lawyer or general counsel, what would it be and why?

I would advise looking for the right team, as with the right team, the sky is the limit. Bringing together a team of individuals who bring something different to the party, but who have the same aspiration is key. However, it is also essential to create an environment where the individuals feel supported and support each other. Not just in good times, but when times become stressful or when a mistake was made like The Three Musketeers. Be open to changes as with every change there comes an opportunity.