What are the most significant cases and transactions that you have been involved in over the past year?

Our organisation was grappling with several pressing challenges, including inefficient contract management and risks related to regulatory complexities in the various jurisdictions we operate in. The manual processes for contract management and regulatory compliance were time consuming and error prone. To address these challenges, legal department defined the organisation’s pain points, priorities and objectives and proceeded to identify tech solutions that match the specific requirements. Too often tech implementations go wrong when the objectives are not well documented at the outset, and stakeholders are not fully aligned. We had extensive consultations with internal stakeholders and documented the organisation’s common objectives to avoid these pitfalls. We also foresaw the data migration challenges and potential integration issues, and those considerations were made part of the overall plan. We are now in the process of implementing a regulatory compliance tool and a contract management solution. Our past lessons in successful implementation of an e-signature tool are helping us in effectively implementing the new tools. In addition to these new initiatives, legal department is leading the initiative to demonstrate compliance with ISO 27701 this year. This will not only strengthen our compliance posture but also enhance our reputation and build trust with our stakeholders.

Based on your experience, what is the key to collaborating successfully with business partners?

While there are several key factors that one could think of for successful collaboration with business partners, the most important, and most underrated element is the understanding that we are all working towards the same shared objective – which is ‘sustainable growth of the organisation’. The goal of sales to close deals quickly and the goal of legal to protect the organisation from taking on unreasonable risks are all part of the same shared goal – sustainable business growth – and not conflicting interests.

What is a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about, and why?

The cause that I am deeply passionate about is transforming legal education to make it accessible for all. Legal education often feels like a scary labyrinth of dense textbooks and arcane jargon. Legal learning is overly complicated for no good reason! I have started on my mission by releasing practical legal books written in simple language, using visuals and storytelling. The first book in the series -“IN-HOUSE COUNSEL ACCELERATOR” is in the process of being published and will be available next month (October 2024). I plan to continue to work towards this mission and create a community of members who share the same cause. Together we can build a future where legal education is clear, engaging and within everyone’s grasp.