Team size: Two 
 
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?  
 
As one of the goals of the legal team was to be oriented towards a work-life balance, it was imperative that we find ways to be well-organised and mindful in our daily routine. Working in such a large group of companies it is important to spend our time efficiently. Therefore, I started building simple, no-cost, yet effective self-service tools that helped automate contracts, NDAs, license agreements, and more. All these drafted and up to date documents and templates are accessible to the legal team and administrators if requested. This automation saves our team a lot of time and therefore our legal department can focus on more complex contracts that require a full knowledge base as well as other day-to-day tasks that we must deal with. Furthermore, this innovation has helped us to mitigate the risk of human error and simplified contract language.  
 
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?  
 
Working in one of the largest and most diverse groups in Cyprus has given me invaluable exposure to complex scenarios. With the group’s dynamic involvement in various sectors such as retail, distribution and logistics, automotive and engineering, as well as property development and management, my journey has been defined by being involved in a multitude of projects and transactions. These ventures, due to the unique requirements of each industry, have often presented various challenges and, at times, unforeseen twists and turns.  
 
I am proud to share that I have been actively involved in the negotiation of several deals, all culminating in successful outcomes. However, my role extends beyond transactional business. I contribute daily to the group’s compliance efforts for operational excellence, resolving employment issues and developing and implementing vital legal protocol and policies.  
 
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?  
 
In my opinion, choosing the right external law firm that aligns with the values of our group is a fundamental and necessary condition before any cooperation and assignment of legal work. The group’s strategy and mission statement should always be considered by our external lawyers. We demand our outside lawyers to be experienced, with strong judgement, research, communication, listening and analytical skills. They must be persistent and able to put our interests first while upholding moral values. Fortunately, the group has been working with some of the best law firms in Cyprus for years now that adhere to the above values and required characteristics. We would only reconsider our choice of external law firms if there was evidence of a mishandling of our cases or other assigned duties.