Team size: Four

What are the most significant cases or transactions you and your team have been involved in?

Since November 2021, my role expanded, and I started also supporting Middle East and Africa (MENA) (on top of Greece, Cyprus, Malta and partly Italy). In this frame, I was involved in the contract negotiation of a large multimillion (over $40m) deal of several lines of business (on premise software, cloud services and implementation services), the negotiation on a data processing agreement (as part of a large software deal, of over $16m).

In addition, I am part of the cash collection team in MENA, drafting the legal risk assessments towards the business on individual cases and supervising the external law firm. The customer concerns are the same all over our region. Yet, the exposure to such a diverse cultural environment has been an amazing experience so far; it has raised geographical barriers and it gives me a unique regional perspective to our business. On the other hand, my involvement with the cash collections, expands my litigation and arbitration knowledge to different legislations, thus giving me the opportunity for on-the-job training, while at the same time managing an external law firm in a large region.

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

As already happening in SAP, in-house lawyers will cease focusing solely on one country. They will be a tool, ready to be used throughout a region, leveraging their expertise (while at the same time being supported by local colleagues or legal databases on region-specific matters).

For very concrete issues (such as cybersecurity, data processing) the trend is for the naming of legal experts who will be providing specialist advice both internally and externally.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

Companies are advancing via digital transformation and as such technology will be a critical part of the legal departments too. Legal matter management software tools and automation, contract life cycle management, tools measuring and tracking matters against budget as well as external law firm performance against budget, will be tools in the hands of the in-house lawyers so that they most effectively manage their matters and have real time access to data or KPIs requested by their employers.

Additionally, I expect that meetings will be held online, even after the pandemic. I have always preferred in-person meetings, but I can admit the value that online meetings have to our employers and customers, with regards to cost, almost zero occupational risk, while at the same time maintaining an adequate level of close contact.