How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

In periods of instability or crisis, my approach is grounded in proactive risk assessment, clear prioritisation, and close coordination with the business leadership. I focus on rapid legal risk identification by assessing immediate exposures across contractual, regulatory, and operational areas. Also, I explore mitigation strategies by implementing measures such as contract amendments, temporary arrangements, or expedited dispute resolution to protect the company’s interests.

I also look into regulatory engagement by maintaining open communication with relevant authorities to ensure compliance while safeguarding operational flexibility and into achieving alignment with business strategy and ensuring all legal actions support the organisation’s continuity plans, financial stability, and long-term strategic objectives.

Documentation and communication are also key. We aim to keeping decision-makers informed with clear, concise legal guidance so that strategic decisions are made on a sound legal foundation.

This integrated approach ensures that legal decisions are not made in isolation, but in a way that reinforces the organisation’s resilience and ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

We primarily rely on in-house resources for day-to-day legal needs, contract reviews, compliance matters, and most negotiations. External legal counsel is engaged in situations requiring specialised expertise, like complex cross-border regulatory issues, niche areas of law, jurisdiction-specific representation where in-house resources lack the necessary licensing and high-stakes litigation where additional capacity or local procedural expertise is required.

Performance evaluation is based on quality and accuracy of legal advice, responsiveness and adherence to deadlines, cost-efficiency and value delivered relative to fees and the ability to understand and align with our business priorities.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company?

Our legal department is a strategic enabler rather than a reactive function. We contribute by anticipating legal risks in new business ventures, enabling faster and more secure execution of strategic projects, structuring agreements in a way that maximises commercial flexibility while minimising exposure and supporting market expansion through compliance planning and regulatory approvals.

For example, in a recent strategic partnership negotiation, legal played a central role in structuring a cooperation framework that preserved our first-right-of-refusal on future tenders. This not only secured immediate business but also created a long-term competitive advantage.