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?

In conjunct with our stakeholders, we created a loud-based document management system that had significantly improved our workflow with them by enhancing collaboration, centralising access, ensuring document security and risk assessment per each open matter. These benefits have been achieved without incurring large expenses, since we use our available tools making it an innovative and effective solution for the company, in which multiple stakeholders can work on the same document simultaneously, making it easier to collaborate on legal briefs, contracts, and on live budget matters. This improves efficiency and streamlines the review and revision process.

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

Increased emphasis on technology and automation: General counsel will likely continue to leverage technology and automation to streamline legal processes and increase efficiency, by using legal software for contract management, e-discovery, legal research, AI tools, such as natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, will assist in tasks like legal research, contract analysis, and risk assessment.

The role of GCs in ensuring ethics and compliance within organisations will continue to be crucial, playing an active role in developing and implementing comprehensive compliance programmes, including monitoring regulatory changes, and providing guidance on ethical decision-making.

General counsel will have to harness the power of data analytics to make more informed decisions. Analytics tools will help in assessing legal risks, predicting litigation outcomes, managing legal spend, and optimising resource allocation.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

The legal department must commit to diversity and inclusion, communicate and set clear goals, implement diverse hiring practices (diverse candidate slates, blind resume screening, and providing implicit bias training to interviewers) and update policies and procedures to ensure they promote diversity and inclusion. The main goal is to pair diverse talents with experienced professionals who can provide guidance, increase visibility, and create opportunities for advancement.

One of the keystones now is remote work options, flexible hours, or part-time schedules to promote work-life balance and accommodate diverse needs, helping us attract and retain our workforce.

We collaborate with external organisations and legal networks focused on diversity and inclusion within the LGBT+ community. This helps us to support initiatives that promote diversity in the legal profession.

Fostering a culture of openness and transparency, encouraging discussions about diversity and inclusion, promoting avenues for feedback and suggestions, and celebrating are key.