First, can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently?

The function of the legal team can be divided into three sections: i) structuring; ii) compliance; and iii) in-house. The first covers the transactional side of things: supervising and keeping track of all the deals in the pipeline from a legal and regulatory standpoint; drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements; building innovative collateral packages based on operational needs and country-specific regulations and commercial customs. The compliance arm of the department coordinates, reviews and updates existing policies and procedures that guide the company as a whole and ensure that they are complied with. From purely HR-related policies to the risk manuals that guide our operations. Finally, the in-house arm focuses on providing the whole company with relevant advice on various legal matters that apply to the business itself, C-Suits and our services.

What is a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

I very much care about our company’s whole reason for being. As we put it: “unleashing the big power of small business, by simplifying, accelerating and reimagining cross-border trade”. Giving small businesses the chance to grow and the opportunity to reach a larger audience and markets, especially when traditional financing finds that growth too risky or not worthwhile.

What can law firms do to improve their service to the legal department?

Think long-term, both in terms of fees and relationship-wise; focus on the landing stage of the relationship and not pass straight to the “just another client” stage; lastly, anticipate needs.