Team size: 13

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

For quite some time we have been hearing that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will replace lawyers. My view is that this is possible only to some extent as legal counsel is not just drafting the best contract or composing the most accurate communication. Great legal counsel is first and foremost based on reading and anticipating human interaction, the ability to understand what your counterpart is thinking and feeling and to act upon it. My first mentor always argued that real negotiations will always include a crisis and one of the sides stepping down, before the parties can reach final agreement and that neither side should be fully satisfied.

Looking into the future, AI will affect in-house legal counsel in two key areas: Firstly, the companies we work for will significantly expand AI application throughout the organisation, both internally and externally, redefining needs, capabilities and means. As any new technology, AI entails legal challenges, some of which we can already foresee (e.g. trade secrets protection, IP ownership, confidentiality, cross organisational consistency and controls), and some challenges will be discovered as AI develops. In-house legal counsel is best positioned to lead stakeholders in putting in place guidelines and procedures to secure and mitigate potential risks, to assess unfolding circumstances and to update company policies such as code of conduct. It also brings up one of the classic conflicts legal departments confront, which is between the desire to support the organisation’s ambitions to adopt new technology quickly and extract its maximum potential versus the protection that must be implemented for the wellbeing of the organisation and its continued existence.

The second area predicted to affect in-house legal counsel in AI, is how to embrace it and implement it in our legal department daily work and in the way we support our internal customers. I believe that in the first phase, AI will be used for legal research, document review and drafting, and for making legal information much more accessible to the internal user. At a later stage, we can expect AI to become so effective and efficient that it will free up human legal professionals to focus on the more complex tasks requiring human judgment and ethics.

We should also be aware of the general challenges of this pioneering technology including bias, lack of regulation, lack of transparency, resistance to changes and costs. These challenges can be mitigated by using diverse training data, seeking expert guidance and regularly reviewing the AI systems performance.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

It is probably true for any industry, but it is certainly important for our industry to be well versed in what your company does, how does it serve its customers, its unique characteristics and challenges in the market. You need to have a passion for this industry, so you can always aspire to learn what’s next. Think of the e-commerce market and its tremendous development in the last few years leading to the introduction of new technologies constantly improving the capabilities of the service providers in this market. Our industry is global, so knowledge of international law and international treaties is key. It is also helpful to have extensive knowledge of legal liability and insurance. Finally, one should have the determination of a litigator and the spirit of a mediator.

What can law firms do to improve their service to the legal department?

They need to make sure they are familiarised with the specific characteristics and the business of the organisations they are supporting, how decisions are made, their values and the key internal stakeholders. They should also make it a priority to retain knowledge and knowhow relevant for their customers, irrespective of possible lateral movements of their lawyers. Lastly, they should routinely identify and report regulatory and legislative changes and specific exposures relevant to the industry or the company they serve.