Team size: 15

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?

We have increased the focus on our investing arm this year and provided support for over 30 companies, in 14 countries around the world, who are working in the environmental tech space. We have helped by investing, as well as providing legal, technical support and operational expertise. The typical investments are at Seed or Series A rounds and are aligned with key industry sectors tackling the environmental challenges.

Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on, of which you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful?

Just as one example: AI is transformative and will have more impact than we realise. But, with that, in-house counsel will be required to navigate the new way things are done and what this means for compliance standards and tracking what is possible. Regulators around the world are looking at a number of ways to deal with the AI challenges. The EU’s approach to AI is in contrast to that of the US, which is also reflected in the way global tech is conforming to those challenges. Data privacy and copyright laws and regulations will be the tools to navigate the AI boom until AI regulation is in place, but these tools are a little blunt for the current landscape. So, the trends may well be more emphasis on data privacy and copyright experts to help keep on side with deploying AI tools and LLMs.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

Being understanding of the requirements of your clients and colleagues. The pace of change is a cause for anxiety and uncertainty, with demands being ever increasingly placed on legal departments. Legal expertise is only a part of the job, being a good interpreter for your clients and their commercial needs is critically important.