Team size: 40    

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved the way your legal team works and didn’t come at a huge cost?  

Implementing a simplification tool for developing the contract flow within the organisation by transforming the process from the print approvals stage to the automatic flow, finalised with the extended electronic signature. In the previous company, the legal and compliance department struggled with many documents from which the commercial contracts represented the most relevant part. The aim of the process meant the drafting simplification, verifying and approval flow efficiency, which was developed with the internal IT department. The result consisted of a very efficient method for the company by reducing the time of approving the contracts and, at the same time, better control for the management over these processes. The cost of this solution was reduced due to the involvement of internal resources from legal and compliance departments in cooperation with the IT Department. 

What are some of the key developments (legal, geopolitical or otherwise) that have affected your business over the last year?  

In the last year, the local government legislation in the energy domain for keeping the customers’ costs low by a cap-price mechanism with a reimbursement scheme generated huge delays and financial vulnerabilities for the energy supply operators in the local market, with relevant effects over the credit lines offered by the banking sector both the national but also at the international level. The compensation mechanism from energy suppliers to the customers forced the energy operators to bear some electricity consumption costs. The main legal issue consisted of the mechanisms for subsequently reimbursing suppliers from public sources that needed to be clearly defined and operational; thus, this could lead to the closure of some supply activities and generate severe cash flow difficulties for others who try to maintain their operational status. This situation consisted not only of delays in the recovery of the costs but also made it uncertain whether suppliers will be ever fully compensated. The administrative burden for energy suppliers, especially for smaller ones, could become unbearable, generating high additional costs and risks of errors, thus causing closures of some small supply businesses. 

How do you think the in-house legal role will evolve in the coming years?  

In my view, the evolution will be mixed: in the context of the new technologies challenges on the one hand and in the new context of the multi-crisis model in many industries. Thus, the evolution of the in-house legal role will continue to be impacted by the development of new technologies. In this regard, AI plays a central role; machine learning represents the same option, around others like the new tools developed last years from simple legislation programmes to sophisticated legal library virtual tools. On the other hand, how different challenges continue to impact many industries determines the in-house legal function to act more resilient and flexible in finding the appropriate solutions. 

Do you use any “legal technology” products and, if so, what areas of your work do you find it most useful for?   

The tool used currently is the Contract management App, which is essential for managing the relation with the contracting parties and for developing the company contractual strategy. This application supports the efficient management of the contractual activities for essential areas such as commercial, finance, debt recovery and of course disputes resolution and litigations.