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?

During periods of instability or crises, the role of our legal department is to understand the problem’s source and how this may affect the core business of our company. In this context, I believe that effective communication among all key stakeholders, and especially the management, is of paramount importance. My approach also is to define an appropriate and clear plan with roles and responsibilities, as well as to identify the risks and to provide solutions to minimise the potential impact on the organisation. Notwithstanding the plan, strong leadership and flexibility are critical components – since during unstable periods – nothing is permanent.

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?

AI is the future not only in the legal profession, but in all fields affecting our lives. Someone could say that AI is a threat for our profession, but I believe that AI is an opportunity. The automatisation of data, reports, cases etc. reduces the manual work, and we will have more time to build to the value-added task of analysing data/results, thinking and advising our organisations. Our Greek futurist Dimitris Dimitriadis explains this in his book under title “2049”. Since AI is a quite trending topic, information is available via conferences, courses, news, networking etc.

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently (these can be legal, political, economy or business-based)?

I believe that one of the key trends is ESG, both in Greece and worldwide. ESG is changing the business world. Companies should incorporate principles on the three pillars: environmental, social, and governance. As the climate crisis escalates, governments and other key stakeholders have increased their pressure on companies to adopt practices aiming at the net transition. This matter is related to our legal profession as well; we, as in-house lawyers, should assist the organisation to execute the appropriate policies and monitor the compliance on ongoing basis.