Team size: Twelve
Did the pandemic lead to a lasting increase in the interaction your legal team has with the strategic plans of the company?
In a nutshell – yes! The pandemic has prompted many companies to embrace greater digital transformation and shift to hybrid working. In turn, this has significantly accelerated capacity demands worldwide and the need for digital infrastructure like data centers has increased tremendously. We have been working intimately with the business teams to develop different procurement and contracting strategies that address the unique needs of disparate regions. We also built in more robust provisions and policies in our contracts that would promote the continued development of our data centers even in the midst of a global pandemic.
As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?
Technology is advancing and evolving ever faster than before. Legal teams may be required to advise on products where there is no existing legal framework or where applicable laws are nascent. It is imperative for counsel to create value in the legal work that we do. For that reason, we should consistently aim to keep abreast of matters outside the law, and learn from non-legal industry players, who are ultimately our end users.
How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?
The foundation of strong relationships is trust. Business partners need to see you as someone who understands the business, weathers the ups-and-downs of the projects with the team, and creates solutions that will enable projects to achieve business objectives. A counsel should always strive to have her boots on the ground, and support with practical, contextualised and relevant legal advice.
