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 like the saying: ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ My team understands the business and its future concerns, and we adapt accordingly. Regardless of this, my team has developed its own vision for the next five years and presented it to the business, so everyone knows where we are headed.

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?

This relates to my tenure at MANN+HUMMEL. I have been involved in the following key transactions: a major carve-out of parts of the MANN+HUMMEL business to an investor, working on the acquisition of a Chinese business as a bolt-on to our existing portfolio, and preparing arbitration proceedings.

How do you measure the impact of ESG initiatives on the company’s overall performance and reputation?

We have analysed both the implementation costs, and the ongoing costs required to maintain compliance with ESG regulations. ESG is clearly a cross-functional effort, so it is important for management to understand that this impacts the wider organisation. This understanding helps highlight the magnitude of such initiatives. At the same time, shareholder management is equally important, as family-owned businesses sometimes struggle to grasp the consequences of ESG and why so much money should be spent on what is often perceived as bureaucracy.

How have you integrated technology into your legal processes, and what impact has this had on efficiency and compliance?

The focus here is on tools that enable stakeholders to self-serve. An example could be tools that allow the generation of standard documents, such as non-disclosure agreements (NDA), or even the review of an NDA. As long as the terms fall within a pre-defined range of acceptable risk, stakeholders don’t need to engage with legal. The tool will guide them through the process, eliminating legal as a bottleneck and increasing stakeholder satisfaction. Other tools include legal intake management systems, which enhance transparency in what we do and streamline how we handle ‘legal business’ to become more effective. Ultimately, all of this serves the purpose of enabling us to do more with less in the future.

What role does the legal department play in promoting and ensuring corporate social responsibility in your organisation?

If we understand CSR as being a good corporate citizen, then the legal department plays a role in this cross-functional effort. We support the ESG department and local teams with their respective CSR initiatives. In some countries, the legal team is directly involved in such activities, such as distributing food or clothes to the local community.

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?

At the top of the list is ‘do more with less.’ This is driven by economic circumstances, such as the potential financial struggles businesses may face in the future, as well as the fact that talent has become a scarce resource. Regarding AI, I’m actually not particularly concerned, as I am confident that AI can and will help legal departments meet the “do more with less” challenge. However, legal departments need to be curious. We must be open to the potential AI offers and explore how it can be utilised within our teams.