Team size: Six

Major legal advisers: McCann FitzGerald, Goodwin Proctor

What are some of the legal challenges that IT companies face in the development and use of emerging technologies in their products?

Privacy is obviously a major issue in relation to the use of these emerging technologies, the proliferation of customer data and the use of that data. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about the value of their data and are also concerned about the uses made of that data and how secure it is. The interaction between national and international laws in a privacy context for global businesses is becoming very challenging.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

I see the in-house legal role continuing to evolve and move outside of what was traditionally seen as the role of the legal department. As well as areas such as compliance and risk, increasingly I am seeing legal departments getting more involved in areas such as business ethics, diversity and inclusion and ESG more generally.

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

Like many other businesses in the travel industry, the global pandemic had a significant impact on our company, and we experienced significant liquidity challenges. This ultimately led to the business being taken over and a significant new investment in the business. All of this was done remotely without us ever meeting any of the advisors involved in the transaction or indeed our new owners in person! Since then, the business has moved forward and signed a series of major new partners, such as Uber and United Airlines, with the legal department playing a significant role in signing these partners.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Given that the way in which we work is changing, the legal team will need to be able to find ways to input into key decisions in a more remote environment. It used to be the case that in-house lawyers wanted to make sure they were in the room when key decisions were made. Now there isn’t even a room! The ability to influence and form relationships with key decision makers will become even more important in this new environment.