Team size: 25

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

The key is to develop an integrated approach that views legal strategy as a critical component of business resilience, rather than just a compliance function. Conducting ongoing legal risk assessments to identify the vulnerabilities most likely to arise during crises and prioritise critical legal issues that could threaten business continuity are essential actions for a legal manager to take at such times. It is also important to maintain a closer relationship with regulators and supervisors during crises. From a contract management perspective, one of the key objectives during the crisis/instability period is to review force majeure clauses and contractual obligations, identify contracts that need to be amended or renegotiated and develop a contingency plan for potential litigations. Another important aspect in times of instability or crisis is to maintain open and ongoing communication with the business units and management to ensure that the legal strategy supports the core business objectives and that there is effective coordination between the legal, operational and executive teams. Legal considerations should be integrated into contingency planning. In times of instability and crisis, the legal manager needs to build a network of external advisers for specialised expertise.

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?

Emerging technologies are likely to reshape the legal profession in the future. AI is at the forefront of transforming legal workflows. According to recent predictions, around 40% of legal tasks are expected to be automated, with AI playing a pivotal role in improving efficiency in areas such as: legal research (where AI tools can quickly assess vast amounts of data); document management (AI streamlines the review of documents, significantly reducing the time spent by legal advisors on these tasks).

Also, as demonstrated during the pandemic crisis, the shift to remote working has led to the widespread adoption of technologies that facilitate virtual interactions between legal advisers and other colleagues and stakeholders, with video conferencing becoming a new ‘standard’, making the process more accessible and flexible.

In order to keep up with these rapid technological developments, legal professionals need to stay informed so that they can deliver better services to internal and external clients.