How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

The workload has certainly increased, especially for in-house lawyers in large multinationals like Coca-Cola. In-house lawyers put an emphasis on compliance, health, safety, and people, the areas in which the pandemic has created new legal and compliance tasks. During the pandemic crisis, the external regulatory framework has been evolving much more rapidly than usual, requiring fast and constant learning, adjustments, and updates. E-commerce and tactical M&As are two other areas that have significantly expanded. As a result, the role of general counsel has become even more essential. Key executives in the organisation came to general counsel for broader strategic advice and crisis management far more than before.

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

The most significant transactions we have been involved in include the complex acquisition of 30 percent stake in Caffè Vergnano, closed in October 2021, with a call option for an additional 19 percent. At the same time, we signed with Caffè Vergnano a long-term distribution agreement in 28 countries across central and eastern Europe, a couple of African countries. Our team also was in charge of selected sales and marketing collaborations in Italy. In relation to this deal, we also worked on obtaining antitrust clearances in Italy, Austria, Serbia, and Montenegro, as well as Golden Powers clearance in Italy.

What do you feel are the pros and cons of an in-house legal role compared to a private practice one?

The pros of an in-house role are having more flexibility in organising workload, agenda, and work-life balance. There is closer collaboration with the business, which allows in-house counsel to provide more effective and tailored solutions and to be an integral part of strategic decisions from the outset. The role of in-house counsel entails regular interactions with the highest executives of the company on a broad range of topics. Through regular day-to-day interaction, in-house counsel can provide proactive advice even beyond the legal domain, being able to impact first-hand business. Indeed, Coca-Cola HBC proudly recognises the legal team as business growth leaders. Overall, in-house roles allow you to interact with numerous types of managers and professional personnel with diverse backgrounds. One of the biggest cons of in-house positions is to entail less exciting nature of the work. While lawyers in law firms may support clients in multiple markets, in-house practice tends to focus on one specific sector.