What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

Working as a general counsel at a Swiss bank with an international clientele is very exciting since you always have to cover a very broad range of matters. Our main challenges from last year include the implementation of a new core banking system and the setting up of new financial products and investment opportunities for our clients, such as highly specialised funds, and the trading and custody of cryptocurrencies. The introduction of a new core banking system affected every department within the bank. The legal department was part of the whole team and set up the right negotiation strategy as well as the design of the agreements. Furthermore, we assisted our Bergos Next team in setting up a collaboration with an emerging Swiss Venture Capital platform to offer our Next Generation clients investments in Venture Capital.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

The use of legal technology is crucial for in-house legal teams in banks to become more efficient, accurate, and effective. By leveraging the power of technology, legal teams can provide timely, accurate advice on complex cross-border legal matters while also reducing the legal risk of costly legal mistakes. It is important that the touchpoints work within the team and with other teams. IT tools that create a workspace for real-time collaboration and communication as well as tools that can be used as a secure place to store, organise, share and access information are helpful as well as document automation and online legal research tools. I am also looking forward to using AI tools to automate tedious research tasks and spot potential legal risks before they become a major issue.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

A colourful bouquet of qualities and knowledge is necessary and helpful. In addition to the ‘usual’ qualities, a general counsel should have long-term personal qualities such as loyalty, trustworthiness, leadership and consistency are of great importance.

An experienced general counsel not only knows his company, the people, the products, the customers and the business environment very well, but also manages to anticipate legal issues and risks, and to find the ideal legal solution for the matter at hand. Finally, it is also important to go to work with an open mind and great curiosity, and to be passionate about what you do.