Team size: ~80 legal professionals  
 
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 technology space is constantly in flux, so maintaining a strong ability to pivot, reassess, and adjust for change is critical. I regularly review my team’s model of legal support for the business to address an ever-changing landscape and developing regulatory regimes. New laws constantly require new approaches, so we work closely with our Government Relations team to see what is coming, and then partner with the business and Product teams to ensure compliance.  
 
Similarly, we always seek to stay embedded within the business and have a seat at the table, so that we can foresee issues and opportunities before they materialise. We must constantly scrutinise the challenges and opportunities ahead for our business to ensure that we are maintaining and building our resources in the appropriate areas. I encourage my team to ruthlessly prioritise (as there is always more potential work than actual time) and to focus on issues that will move the needle. In times of true crisis (for example, periods that may demand layoffs), it is even more important to be rational and pragmatic – while also empathetic and caring with respect to our people. We can never forget that headcount reductions impact real people.  
 

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?   
 
In the tech space, we are obviously very focused on Artificial Intelligence. While there are still tremendous questions about how AI will actually impact our business, it is clear that it already is an area of massive focus. Our outside counsel are actively pushing this as an area of expertise, despite the fact that it could, in theory, reduce the need for legal support in some cases. And our business leaders are focused on the opportunities to use AI in how we support our customers – for example, customer service and selling platforms.  
 
We spend quite a lot of time engaging with experts on AI, both externally and internally, to ensure we have the greatest chance of staying ahead of these trends. We have developed a version of ChatGPT for our legal team to use, which helps provide a level of efficiency and consistency across our global team. Given the fact that privacy regulators are generally tasked with overseeing AI, we are engaging closely with them to stay a step ahead of developing trends and ensure we remain fully compliant.