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

As you know I have just recently joined Amplifon and therefore I needed to get an overview of all the relevant transactions myself. But so far team and I have been involved in several acquisitions (asset deals and share deals) as we are rapidly growing. We support these transactions by drafting and negotiating the contracts, conducting due diligence and checking for any other potential risks. Since we are in the medical sector, we have a lot of restrictions and directives which need to be followed. In order to do so, we need good and efficient processes and internal guidelines. Those guidelines need to be clear, unambiguous and easy to follow for everyone. We are also building up a compliance system to meet all the new legal requirements in the health industry.

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

Through the pandemic our work location became more flexible- you could choose where you wanted to work. But the downside is that all the social interaction is missing (brainstorming among other things became more difficult). It is not easy to connect with people and build up good working relationships, especially in a newly joined role, and it is nearly impossible to read the body language and the reaction of others if your only interaction is via digital platforms. Teams, Skype and Zoom are great platforms but cannot cover personal contact. Also leading and training a team has been challenging, especially when you have junior team members. You need to find ways to keep your team motivated and to monitor their work without micromanaging.

How much influence do you, as a general counsel, have on the diversity and inclusion policies of your organisation?

Aside from my own team members that I choose, I do not have direct influence on the diversity and inclusion policies. Every department oversees their people. However, I have influence through internal guidelines and policies which have been drafted in corporation with HR. This is a work in progress and still in the beginning phases. But we are a growing company and our awareness in that regard is rising. This is only one of many policies or expectations that need to be followed nowadays. The requirement to be considered an attractive employer has changed rapidly over the last few years and employers needed to rethink their brand, their beliefs and their expectations in general. I think we still have a long way ahead of us but the direction we are heading is the right one.