Team size: Three

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

The legal department’s greatest value is not only understanding risk, but also communicating it clearly to internal clients and working with them to mitigate it. Leveraging technology to have a data-driven approach to risk will help in-house counsel speak the business language, and therefore be more client-oriented, faster in addressing risk, scale their service delivery and distribute routine work. The key to success is to first identify specific issues that can be solved with automation.

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

I am passionate about the following causes: diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, mentorship and sponsorship to empower underrepresented groups across my community. I am also passionate about female empowerment and disability advocacy.

One of the resources that made a difference throughout my journey, is learning from others’ experiences. I have had great mentors across my life. One another way I enrich myself even more is by listening to others’ experiences via audiobooks and podcasts. I have been inspired to share my own story on various platforms as a female lawyer, as a working parent and caregiver to someone with disability and as a DEI champion to inspire change. And it is something I do because I have to believe in the world as it should be. A world where differences are celebrated. A world that is better, brighter, fairer, safer, and most importantly inclusive and accessible to all.

Luckily, I am also able to utilise this passion for DEI and CSR in Gartner too. I am part of Gartner’s internal DEI efforts through various platforms including co-leading our legal and compliance DEI Council and being on the board of Gartner Gulf CSR Committee, Mosaic ERG, and Women at Gartner ERG. Through the CSR committee, we managed to expand and multiply my external mentorship efforts to underrepresented law students to the broader faculties in two universities, including Middlesex University in Dubai. I am happy to see that the culture of mentorship is expanding across the floor.

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

Working as an in-house counsel in the Middle East has been an interesting and rewarding experience so far, but also challenging. Not only do you have to pay close attention to details, but you are also expected to build a thorough knowledge of the unwritten market practice rules and processes, and a good understanding of commercial as well as legal issues of the overall rapidly changing and developing regulatory environment across the region.

My top five attributes to be successful as an in-house lawyer would be authenticity, proactiveness and strategy, leveraging technology, approachability, ability to work under pressure and relationship builder with stakeholders and open to sharing information and assets.

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

Embrace the future of legal technology — this one may seem basic, but one of the immediate ways to improve is to fully embrace the capabilities of legal technology. Unsurprisingly, legal tech is edging its way up board agendas as innovative law firms and companies look to exploit their potential to make their teams more streamlined and efficient. Modern legal technology can streamline their legal research process in a variety of ways, from integrating multiple applications into one platform to incorporating AI search technology to help their lawyers quickly find the most relevant results. Importantly, embracing new legal technology does not have to be difficult. In fact, a primary benefit of new technology is that it is often intuitive, with a minimal learning curve and a large potential for streamlining the firm’s workflow.