Team size: Three 

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense? 

We are typically inundated with requests on a daily basis, ranging from simple and straightforward to downright ambiguous. Therefore, we aim to be briefed as clearly as possible and to be provided with as much information as possible when assigned a task. In this context and in relation to certain tasks that come up regularly, in particular contracts with clients and suppliers/partners, we have prepared standardised questionnaires or forms in order to gather the necessary information.  

The innovative part is that we have managed to digitise the process so now the assignments relating to contracts with partners are done through the company’s usual ticketing system. To do this we had to update and tweak the existing forms. Using the existing platform meant that there was no extra budgetary impact – managing costs is always a key objective for the legal department so we have to be quite resourceful from time to time. Further, having the task assignment done through the platform allows us to keep better track of the workflow. We plan to broaden the use of this system to include more types of assignments.   

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

In December 2022, we closed an important financing deal with the National Bank of Greece. The transaction had a strong international element, bringing together parties from six separate jurisdictions. It was a very exciting, time-sensitive project. One of the biggest challenges was coordinating tasks and communicating intensively with all outside counsel teams across the world and across various time zones, so that timely financial closing was achieved.  

Further, upstream has been rolling out its new marketing platform and Legal has been involved in supporting its commercialisation process, especially with creating templates, such as terms of use, contracts and other accompanying documents. In this context, we further pay attention to the data privacy questions that typically arise, so that the product is tweaked according to the data privacy requirements of each jurisdiction.  

In addition, in recent years the legal department has been managing the preparation of the business risk register as part of the annual enterprise risk management (ERM) process, a very useful tool in recording and evaluating the company’s risks. Although outside the traditional scope of the in-house lawyer, participating in the preparation of this register gives us the opportunity to study how the business operates, to propose ways to mitigate the identified risks and ultimately to be more effective in our work.  

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?   

Upstream values growth, agility, initiative and innovation. It is a company that moves at an extremely fast pace, takes risk and does not fear, and on the contrary welcomes change. Obviously, the legal department embraces these characteristics too and certainly looks for them in its partners. We value business acumen, responsiveness as well as an innovative mindset in the law firms we work with. I have found that lawyers who advise tech companies share the same values, tend to think creatively and have a commercial outlook. This is very important, as technological innovation is often accompanied by regulatory ambiguity and the legal team is frequently called upon to help design a new product or service. Thankfully, we have been very fortunate in our legal partners, with most of whom we have worked for several years.