Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

My team was not working efficiently, too much time on minor matters and not enough time to dedicate to key projects. I implemented a Kanban Board within the team to get the picture of the type of work carried out by the legal function to identify areas of improvement. I selected a Kanban platform (online subscription for € 10 per month) that offered the possibility to: a) customise work categories, and b) generate reports.   

After three months the report generated by the Kanban board identified minor matters and repetitive work such as NDAs, LOI, marketing agreements and admin support for public tenders; the following actions were taken: redrafted the existing templates of NDAs, LOI and marketing agreements and provided trainings on those subjects to the business; and created a self-serve portal for business functions for public tender. 

After three months, the Kanban report evidenced a decrease of 33% of time saved by the legal function dedicated on other matters different from those above mentioned.  

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?   

As C-level executives have their focus on economic volatility, geopolitical concerns, ESG and digital transformation; general counsel will have to consider the wide range of organisational and social issues and how they can continue to develop their legal expertise and leadership skills to meet these new demands. To address this, general counsel should in my opinion build trust-based, collaborative relationships with their peers in other key functions. 

Additionally, legal functions will have to demonstrate the value they generate to the business and will likely be measured by KPI to assess not only how well the legal team helps the organisation reduce cost and risk but also the revenue they help generate. The use of new technologies will be key for general counsel to service their company’s ongoing need with more efficiency, more user-friendly approaches and more focus on adding value. 

How do you stay updated on the evolving regulatory landscape in Italy and ensure compliance with domestic laws, EU regulations, and industry-specific regulations?  

The pressure that in-house teams receive from the business does not always allow them to dedicate enough time to carry out legal research and keep up to date with new laws and regulations.
 

I consider it fundamental for general counsel to build their own network of external trusted professionals and to onboard panel law firms with modular retainer agreements rather than with only an hourly-fees model for single projects. The open relationship I have within my network of partners and senior associates allows me to have regular catch up to discuss the business needs of my organisation and let them know in which area of law I would expect updates as I either know that the expertise of my team is not strong enough if compared to our panel law firm or where I simply believe that a double check with my external consultant may be a sensitive approach, in particular on EU and industry-specific regulations.  

Within my team I also nominated ‘champions’ on Privacy & Cyber Security, Telco regulatory, Public Procurement and Compliance / 231 Law as key areas of interest of the Legal & Compliance function in ZTE Italia. Each team member who is nominated ‘champion’ is responsible to keep up to date on those subjects and to regularly share within the team the relevant updates. I believe that knowledge sharing, both externally and internally, is key to ensure a full compliance approach with such an evolving legal landscape.