About

Emelie Helling was appointed as general counsel of Orc, a global market leader in trading technology for listed derivatives, in 2012. By working closely with the entire business from sales, to engineers, to senior management and being involved in all its areas including risk management, Helling can boast a well-rounded skill-set and astute business acumen. Helling is a dynamic and results-driven general counsel, going the extra mile during her maternity leave by building a business continuity plan to ensure business requirements are always understood and standards in the quality of work are maintained. To supplement this, Helling had built a strong network of non-legal and finance contacts. Some of Helling’s biggest achievements are successfully managing Orc’s business challenges: during her time as general counsel, Orc Group has been listed and de-listed; it has purchased companies and been purchased itself. Demonstrating her efficiency, Helling successfully tackled the purchase of a competitor, incorporating relevant terms and conditions of the competitor’s standard agreements into Orc, synchronising products and services and ensuring compliance programs were met within a tight time frame. Helling enjoys working close on deals, focusing not only on the legal aspects but on all varied interests of the company. ‘Finding the right balance, of limiting risks but making sure the deals happen, makes my job interesting and more than a purely legal role’. She believes law firms should be more proactive especially with ideas on upcoming compliance or new opportunities for expanding the company’s footprint.