Team size: 3

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

The key projects I have been involved in over the past twelve months include the analysis and implementation of the requirements of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), to the extent it’s applicable to McKinsey as a third-party service provider. Beyond this regulatory effort, I led a few intellectual property enforcement matters, both inbound and outbound and provided day-to-day intellectual property and technology related legal thought partnership to McKinsey teams and consultants.

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

In my opinion, the most effective in-house counsel should become a proactive strategic partner who deeply understands the commercial drivers, risks and growth goals of their organisation rather than limit to himself to a defensive guardian. Beyond core legal expertise, success requires high levels of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to build cross-functional trust and influence stakeholders. Moreover, in the present era the counsels must possess strong technological fluency to leverage tools and artificial intelligence, allowing them to automate routine tasks and focus on complex problem-solving and mentoring less tenured colleagues. Adaptability is equally vital for navigating constant regulatory shifts and market volatility with a growth mindset. Finally, the ability to provide clear, actionable guidance in plain language is essential to ensure that legal advice enables the organisation’s progress.

AI is increasingly being integrated into legal teams to maximise efficiency. How can in-house counsel ensure the successful incorporation of these tools without compromising the human element?

The in-house counsel can successfully integrate artificial intelligence by adopting a human-centred framework that treats technology as a helpful resource rather than a replacement of human judgement. Legal teams should ensure human-in-the-loop workflows where human element remains the final arbiter for complex tasks like negotiating settlements or crafting strategic arguments. AI can be leveraged to handle repetitive, time-intensive document reviews, drafting of repetitive or standard communication, or data analysis. Maintaining this balance requires rigorous oversight to verify AI outputs for accuracy, protect confidential data, and mitigate algorithmic bias through transparent governance. Ultimately, the most effective implementations are those that use AI to amplify human expertise, allowing legal departments to move away from manual task execution and toward becoming more impactful strategic partners for their organisations.