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? 

Managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises involves a proactive and strategic approach focused on ensuring compliance, minimising risk and maintaining operational continuity. In order to approach this challenge and align our legal strategy with the broader business strategy to ensure organisation’s resilience we mainly follow the below approaches: (i) we stay updated on legal and regulatory framework, market conditions and financial trends and practices that could affect the organisation’s operations during a crisis. We ensure that appropriate clauses are inserted beforehand in our standard contracts with third parties to safeguard stability, resilience and continuity and/or resolution events or status; (ii) the organisation has set up a dedicated crisis management team who is responsible for the preparation, update and continuous testing of the crisis management plan. This requires the involvement of the legal team and includes, amongst others, clear predefined roles for legal team members; (iii) during a crisis we conduct a comprehensive legal risk assessment to identify potential legal risks and liabilities and other legal issues that may arise. This involves collaboration and clear communication with other departments to get a holistic view of the situation and ensure that everyone is informed and aligned on the actions taken; (iv) the legal team works closely with the top management of the organisation for providing legal advice where needed and support strategic decision-making; (v) during a crisis we ensure that all actions taken by the organisation are in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations so as to prevent regulatory-related issues and/or potential litigation or disputes; and (vi) we review key contracts to ensure that our contractual relationship is managed effectively and for invoking force majeure clauses where applicable. This may also involve negotiating terms to reflect the current situation.

Our strategy is closely aligned with the broader business strategy. We work with senior management to understand the organisation’s priorities and objectives, ensuring that on the one hand our legal responses provide business-focused advice, such that, instead of erecting roadblocks, enable the business to take calculated risks, while maintaining compliance with the law. This alignment helps in making decisions that not only address immediate legal concerns but also contribute to the organisation’s long-term resilience.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

Prioritising diversity and inclusion is essential for fostering a productive, innovative and equitable work environment. We seek candidates from diverse backgrounds; my team regularly participates in diversity and inclusion training sessions in an effort to improve awareness and understanding of different cultures, perspectives and experiences. We regularly review and update our organisation’s policies to ensure they promote equity and inclusion, comprehensive anti-discrimination policies and anti-harassment policies. I urge my team to take part to mentorship programmes which support the career development of junior employees. I regularly have one-to-one meetings with my employees for feedback and try to make adjustments based on their input. We try to improve through employee satisfaction surveys conducted by our organisation. By following the above approaches, we aim to create a legal department that values and leverages diversity and ensures an inclusive environment where all employees feel respected, valued and empowered to contribute to their fullest potential.