Spotlight on… My Career and Lessons

Often in adversity lies opportunity. In instability or in crises one needs to manage all aspects including legal with two minds: one applied to the current, day-to-day situation and one looking above and beyond it. With this approach, the legal function can indeed be a partner to the business through difficult times. The resilience of an organisation is built in times of calm and predictability using the same approach: two minds, one maximising the returns to be had due to the current situation and one anticipating the disruption and pretending, in mock exercises, that the disruption has occurred.

The roles I fulfilled in my career, the industries I worked in or the countries where I worked or studied tell a certain story. But having been asked to talk about my biggest achievements I would choose the relationships I was able to build and maintain over the years, regardless of country, industry, or company. Practicing law in law firms or in-house can be an experience varying from competitive to repetitive even if lawyers are usually good at dressing up the day-to-day reality. In my experience, what makes a difference and brings richness to any role general counsel role is the team you are part of, whether you built it, transformed it or inherited it. Even our greatest moments of legal virtuosity, or especially those, cannot and should not be recounted while leaving out our colleagues and the opposing counsel. This is the only way to grow, even after many years of practicing law.

Livia Dumitrescu is currently the head of legal at Franklin Templeton Investment Services in Bucharest. During her professional life in Romania, she was a member of the management boards of Vodafone, Renault Romania and Orange Romania Communications and has served as a compliance and corporate affairs director and Ombuds Director for OMV Petrom. She also served as a board member, member of the nomination committee and member of the remuneration committee for Victoriabank SA (Chisinau), as a board member of Vantage Towers (a Vodafone company), as a board member of two trade associations, Concordia and British Romanian Chambers of Commerce and as a Board member of Vodafone Foundation. In addition, Livia’s international experience covers six and a half years in IFIs (EBRD, BSTDB and EIB) either as legal counsel or advisor and around 11 years in law firms in London and New York.

Livia holds a LL.M degree from Harvard Law School, a M.A. in European Cooperation and Integration from Hull University, a five-year law degree from the Law School at the University of Bucharest and she attended specialised programs at the Institute of Directors (London), Ashridge (Hult University), Columbia Law School (New York) and T.M.C. Asser Institute (The Hague). She holds professional qualifications in Governance, Risk and Compliance (International Compliance Association Fellow), fraud investigation (CFE) and is admitted (not active) to the Bucharest Bar. Livia has a strong interest in governance as a leading factor for business sustainability and in the role of technology in building new businesses which will support a humane future.