Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?  

At Anglo American, we recently combined our legal and corporate affairs team, with our teams working together to realise new opportunities, protect and enhance Anglo American’s reputation, licence to operate and access to markets, thereby enabling it to deliver its strategic ambitions.  

Also, the changing pace of AI and other technologies necessitates new regulations and presents new legal risks and opportunities for service delivery. Teams and organisations are looking to leverage new technologies to create a competitive advantage, and we must be increasingly responsive to those ambitions.  

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in the United Kingdom?  

A higher ESG focus on business practices and performance; the mining industry is being increasingly regulated, which requires us to be nimble and informed on the ever-changing regulatory landscape, while maintaining compliance.  

We must improve how everyday people understand the important role mining plays. Everyone needs the raw materials provided by mining, but they do not always understand that they need it. We need to better explain how this industry is critical to supporting the transition to a greener society and economy.  

As the legal landscape evolves, what steps are you taking to foster a culture of continuous learning and development within the legal team, ensuring that they are all well-equipped to address future legal complexities?  

We launched a Legal Technical Skills Programme to enable our legal professionals to continuously grow and evolve. This programme is a key driver in the way we continue to invest in our people and enable the broader organisation. 

In your role, how do you balance the need to protect the organisation’s interests today while also considering legal implications and opportunities that may arise in the future?  

We need to be responsive to our stakeholders and proactive to trends in the market and society by taking a structured approach to our legal service delivery, which enables the in-house team to prioritise tasks that add unique value.  

We have greatly increased our global connectivity across the legal team. This allows us to utilise diverse perspectives and local experiences to solve common problems, spot trends, share knowledge, and drive innovation. We also rely on our external providers to help us drive operational improvements and leverage their reach to identify and harness opportunities.