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?

In an uncertain global context, Ukraine War, Red Sea Crisis, USA strikes, the entire industry of transports, logistics and supply chain, from production to the end consumer is severe affected. A highly adaptive and proactive perspective from the legal advisors will ensure the success of the organisation. In this regard, the legal department must periodically provide the organisation with thorough risk assessments, identifying all the threats, regulatory changes, contractual liabilities, compliance vulnerabilities as well as all opportunities for the organisation to focus the resources effectively. The legal department plays a critical role in securing the business by addressing contractual, regulatory and risk management aspects in order to support swift decision-making according to the dynamic and unpredictable environment.

Contractual protection is always a good starting point when it comes to securing business relationships and new business opportunities by ensuring fair and honest treatment between the parties, minimising risks and fostering trust. Fair delivery schedules, quality standards, indemnification clauses, dispute resolutions mechanisms, force majeure and hardship clauses should always be the focus of a legal advisor when drafting and negotiating commercial greements. In times of instability a legal advisor must also ensure flexibility despite the rigid barriers imposed by either a highly regulated industry or the organisation’s diminished risk appetite by negotiating service variation clauses and performance metrics to handle changes in demand or supply chain bottlenecks.

Legal department must also assist the organisation in planning, drafting, and implementing a business continuity plan for a variety of crisis and different legal constraints for the organisation to restore services to the widest extent possible in a minimum time frame. By collaborating closely with the legal department, the comprehensive business continuity plan not only effectively addresses crises, but it also safeguards the legal rights and obligations of all parties involved.

Last but not least, the legal department must monitor all relevant changes in laws that could impact the organisation during a crises, ensuring ongoing compliance (incl. trade compliance & export controls) and respectively to revise periodically the organisation’s internal procedures and to develop strategies for addressing non-compliance incidents, so that the organization could navigate complex regulatory changes.

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

The mission of an in-house legal department is aligned with the organisation’s strategy, core mission and values, creating a synergistic relationship that enhances overall performance.

cargo-partner global presence also refers to a multi-faceted and diverse employee workface, and cargo-partner global reach and local presence bring together people from a multitude of backgrounds, all with different skills and experience. Diversity is the visible and invisible difference between people, including but not limited to gender, racial, cultural, national and occupational background, sexual preference, age, disability, religion and political opinion.

Intersectional inclusivity also means accommodating diverse life circumstances. cargo-partner implemented flexible work policies that allow employees to have more control over their work schedules and environments.

The key word in fostering and maintaining diverse and inclusive workplace is respect: respect for the individual and being respectful in the way we work together.

All the members of the legal team have set an annual diversity and inclusion related goal, which is monitored and evaluated quarterly. For instance, in my capacity as head of legal, one of my objectives is to develop my successor. In this respect, I promote a fostering independence approach, in order to enhance my successor’s personal development and thus to strengthen the overall effectiveness and resilience of the legal team and organisation. All the team members are required to complete diversity and inclusion trainings provided on a cargo-partner group level, being educated on relevant legal frameworks and ethical standards related to diversity and inclusion, ensuring compliance and fostering a culture of respect.

In the legal department in Romania, each and every time an internship position is opened, we intentionally seek candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, emphasising transparency, equitable treatment, and zero tolerance for exclusionary behavior. We concluded partnerships with the universities including for the mandatory internships within the academic year.

Diversity also refers to diverse ways of thinking and ways of working. In the main legal projects, I always invite junior members to attend the meetings in order to gain fresh perspectives ensuring that diverse voices are central to decision-making. I actively seek diverse opinions on complex cases or legal frameworks. This could involve consulting with external experts or establishing “legal roundtables” within the in-house legal team, where varied perspectives are encouraged.

Next year, we plan to audit our internal legal processes to ensure we’re actively minimising implicit biases in legal interpretations that might influence the clients’ recommendations. This will help us maintain fairness and objectivity in our work, ultimately enhancing the quality of our advice and legal services.