General counsel and managing director | DDB Germany Group of Companies
Christian Unsinn
General counsel and managing director | DDB Germany Group of Companies
How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?
I think it is currently important to convey calm and confidence in legal advice. There is also a need for more stamina, as the duration of contract negotiations has increased significantly. It is even more crucial for our agencies’ clients to avoid points of attack, so we are focusing even more on mitigating PR risks in our advice. One difficulty we are facing is that budgets for the legal department are being cut, and we therefore have to use them even more carefully than before.
How do you measure the impact of ESG initiatives on the company’s overall performance and reputation?
As an advertising agency, we support some of the biggest clients in Germany with responsible advertising communication. This means we must consider ESG aspects in the ad assets we create and provide legal advice on. Additionally, we need to align our own corporate values with these aspects to maintain credibility. Some of our clients audit us on ESG standards, which allows us to be closely measured and also use these audits to assess our own impact.
How have you integrated technology into your legal processes, and what impact has this had on efficiency and compliance?
We do use AI for legal clearance research on pre-existing assets, among other tasks; however, I am not yet satisfied with the quality of AI for writing legal documents or researching case law. In Germany, beck.de and juris.de are expected to launch a legal AI tool in the near future.
What role does the legal department play in promoting and ensuring corporate social responsibility in your organisation?
Since the HR team reports to me, and with one person dedicated exclusively to sustainability and social responsibility, I am naturally an advocate for this issue.
What do you see as the major legal challenges for businesses in Germany over the next five years, and how are you preparing to address them?
Obviously, the main challenge will be incorporating AI tools into our work, which we hope will speed up processes and improve quality. However, this may also result in employees who are not up to speed with modern technology being replaced or streamlined.
General counsel and managing director | DDB Germany Group of Companies
Christian Unsinn has been the general counsel for the German DDB Group since 2010, and managing director for DDB Germany Group of Companies, the holding company of the DDB Group,...
General counsel and managing director (COO) | Lemon Group Services
General counsel for DDB Group since 2010 and managing director (COO) for Lemon Group Services, the shared services centre for the DDB Group, since 2015, Christian Unsinn’s dual role provides ample...
General counsel | DDB - Lemon Group
Christian Unsinn leads the five-person legal team of Lemon Group Services, the shared services centre of advertising powerhouse DDB Germany, and oversees legal matters for 23 group agencies. In addition...
