EVP legal and General counsel | Lyse AS
Leif Harald Jensen
EVP legal and General counsel | Lyse AS
Team size: 10
What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?
The team has been instrumental in several complex and major non-public, ongoing M&A deals, covering areas such as telecom and renewable energy. The team’s focus on these transactions is highly commercial and requires a broad overview of the legal aspects of telecom and renewable energy/hydropower, taking into account both Norwegian and foreign legislation. The team has also handled the largest licence application for hydropower in Norway in the last 40 years. Furthermore, the team has managed several significant co-operation agreements within the telecom sector.
Additionally, we have addressed an important and fundamental regulatory development relevant to our fibre/broadband business.
What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?
The most important from my perspective would be a deep commercial understanding in combination with being practical and solution-oriented. A good in-house lawyer needs to create value for the company using the in-depth knowledge of the company, which will be difficult for an external lawyer to have.
What do you think sets you apart from other in-house counsel?
In order to develop a strong team, it is extremely important to delegate, be open and transparent, welcome new ideas, and give responsibility to the team.
Based on your experiences over the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on and think other in-house lawyers should be mindful of?
As Lyse’s activity is critical infrastructure for society, it is crucial to understand how global macro-political uncertainty impacts our business through increased risk, supply chain issues, and security concerns.