Legal team size: 5 lawyers, 30 staff 

Major legal advisers: Norton Rose Fulbright, Littler, Bradley 

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? 

A legal department’s role is always to stabilise the organisation, mitigate risk, and align with the broader business strategy to ensure resilience. This starts with assessing risks, providing clear, actionable guidance, and facilitating transparent communication with stakeholders. Legal becomes a key enabler of swift, confident decision-making, ensuring that all actions support immediate stabilisation while protecting the organisation’s long-term interests. 

The legal strategy must support business objectives, whether through managing contracts, navigating regulatory challenges, or protecting intellectual property. By embedding legal expertise into strategic discussions, we help anticipate risks and craft practical solutions that align with the company’s goals. Strengthening governance and compliance frameworks during times of instability reinforces resilience, builds trust with stakeholders, and positions the organisation to emerge stronger. 

Ultimately, the legal team ensures value for all stakeholders—employees, shareholders, regulators, and the community—by fostering transparency, adaptability, and a culture of compliance. Whether navigating restructuring, preserving key assets, or enhancing stakeholder confidence, legal’s strategic focus remains on enabling the organisation to thrive beyond the crisis. 

In your opinion, what are the main trends affecting your work now? 

In the oil and gas industry, the main trends shaping our work include ESG pressures, cyclical market volatility, evolving regulatory landscapes and managing divergent stakeholders’ priorities. 

The rising focus on ESG adds complexity, requiring us to align with sustainability goals, manage emissions-related obligations, and ensure safety and transparency, often within vague regulatory requirements and competing goals from E&P clients to investors, regulators, and communities. Cyclicality demands agility, as fluctuating oil prices force hard decisions on contracts, workforce management, and risk allocation. Legal plays a key role in navigating these dynamics, ensuring fair responsibilities in an unpredictable environment. Additionally, shifting regulations on energy transition, emissions, and global trade create compliance challenges. Legal must act as a stabiliser and strategic partner, balancing competing interests, safeguarding continuity, and enabling resilience to position the organisation for long-term success in a complex and demanding industry. 

What strategic priorities are guiding your legal team into 2025? 

As Chief Legal Officer of a small-cap global drilling company, 2025 strategic priorities should focus on resilience, efficiency, and cost management to navigate volatility and evolving industry demands: 

1. ESG Compliance and Sustainability: strengthen ESG frameworks to meet regulatory and stakeholder expectations and leverage technology (AI) for cost-effective emissions reporting and compliance. 

1. Risk Management: optimise contracts with AI tools to balance risk and reduce exposure to volatility and proactively address regulatory and geopolitical risks with efficient planning. 

1. Cost Management and Operational Efficiency: streamline global compliance processes to minimise duplication and reduce costs and adopt technology for automated contract and compliance management to improve efficiency. 

1. Talent Development and Team Agility: build expertise in emerging trends while reducing reliance on outside counsel by promoting a cost-conscious culture with alternative fee arrangements. 

These priorities ensure legal support for business goals while maintaining adaptability and financial discipline.