Team size:14 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

With the regulatory environment materially changing over the years, becoming more complex, the team led a business-wide project to scan all our service platforms from both a consumer and regulatory perspective. This was aimed at analysing existing issues and futureproofing for upcoming legislation such as the DMA, DSA, and EDTA.    

With a clear scope, budget, and defined outputs, the team assembled external advisers to assist with jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction scanning, taking into account various countries and legal regimes. The output creates a risk-based analysis, with ranking logic, to determine what potential changes were needed as well as where and their reasons.  

The team then collaborated closely with Tech and Product teams globally, driving the necessary changes while ensuring 100% consistency in approach. This was a true team effort across APAC and beyond, combining innovation, detailed analysis, and teamwork.

How do you motivate and manage your legal team well? 

I believe that motivating and managing legal professionals requires a multifaceted approach that takes into account a mix of management, motivation, and cultural strategies. This approach should be underpinned entirely by an appreciation that we are all humans with lives outside of work. For me, one of the key tenets is ensuring there is a clear vision and values for the team. This should act as a compass for the entire team. Furthermore, fostering an environment for growth is crucial as it will empower the team and make the workplace a safe space in which they can experiment and learn from mistakes.

Communication is also a vital tool in managing the team, involving clear expectation setting and providing honest and direct feedback. For me, leading by example is “table stakes” for all leaders and is something that should not be undervalued.

Are the effects of AI on the legal world overplayed, or underplayed? 

I think the answer is neither one nor the other. I believe that the legal community has seen both underplaying and overplaying of the impacts of AI, which is natural with new technologies in a profession that is perceived as relatively traditional. 

In regards to overplaying, there was, and maybe still is, an unrealistic view that AI could materially reduce the number of lawyers needed, with AI allowing for a significant drive towards efficiencies. On the underplaying side, some felt scepticism toward the adoption of AI due to a fear that their legal team’s expertise was being devalued. However, there is huge potential to significantly improve simple workflows, facilitate early decision-making, and reduce costs through AI.

I believe that as legal teams, we need to adopt a nuanced and balanced approach to fully grasp the implications of AI in the legal industry. Simultaneously, we must maintain a conscious awareness of the need for ethical and regulatory frameworks. What we can guarantee is that AI is here to stay and has the potential to drive value.