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

Traditionally, most in-house legal tasks are operated and effected manually, however the nature of the job made in-house legal professionals adapt to the new market demands and follow the new rules and practices since the world is constantly in a state of change. It is well documented that change has become a ubiquitous, inevitable and ever-accelerating part of in-house lawyers’ professional life. Therefore, the single most important ingredient in a recipe for success when dealing with this change is responsiveness. No one could question the fact that the coronavirus pandemic made a new era of re-invention in the profession emerge and has led more legal and compliance functions to pursue automation via legal technology. Undoubtedly, a major impact would be the exploitation of the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence for the provision of legal services, since through usage of cognitive analysis it creates a more efficient documentation management and dispute management system which resolves long-standing problems and issues which were affecting legal teams. Additionally, blockchain is anticipated to be a major force in transforming the functionality of the in-house legal environment by controlling large volumes of confidential and privileged data, securing not only the profession but also the transacting counterparts.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

Traditionally, the role of an in-house lawyer and its legal team was to support the organisation, with its members being at the back office providing administrative tasks, most of which were considered less important than other roles internally. Nowadays, the voice of an in-house lawyer has become stronger, and its value is no longer unnoticed. Now, in-house lawyers play a key role in the functionality of an organisation and have become a strategic business partner in the market, building concrete relationships with business partners and helping them to operate in a truly responsible manner. An in-house lawyer is advised to listen to their business partners, since it is a highly valued soft skill to amicably resolve a problem and at the same time to have an in depth understanding of the commercial needs of their partners. Therefore, continuous communication, commercial acumen and an ethical approach are the three ingredients to maintain a strong relationship.

What are the most significant cases or projects you have been involved in recently?   

Some of the most significant projects which are currently on-going are the provision of new banking services to our customers. These include SEPA service, debit card services, online banking service, LIBOR cessation and GDPR which requires extensive legal research, considerable reading and analysis due to the complexity of the legal, regulatory and technical aspects which surround such projects.  It is also worth mentioning that I am responsible for the legal management of the majority of the important financing arrangements concerning the banks corporate portfolio involved in the pre and post execution of the agreements.