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

Over the past year, I have supported several initiatives of strategic significance with the most prominent being the successful delivery of the first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) brought to commercial operation in Poland. This project represents a milestone both for the company and for the broader Polish energy market, positioning the company as a first mover in a sector that is essential for the stability and flexibility of an increasingly renewables‑driven grid.

As head of legal, I provided legal oversight from development through to COD. My work covered the full lifecycle of the project, including, permitting and regulatory structuring; negotiation and execution of key commercial contracts – negotiations for the supply of all major technological components, including battery units and inverters and concluding agreements for engineering and electrical works; and revenue optimisation strategy, negotiating and finalising a contract with a trading partner responsible for optimising the BESS’s revenue streams.

Beyond delivering a technically and contractually complex asset, this project is significant for its market‑shaping impact. By successfully completing the first BESS installation ahead of other market players, the company has demonstrated that such projects are not only feasible but commercially compelling, given the rapid growth of renewable generation and the rising frequency of negative pricing events.

Bringing this first BESS project online represents a major strategic and symbolic step. Both for the company’s transformation agenda and for the development of modern, flexible energy infrastructure at the national level. As the head of legal, my role involved navigating various legal, commercial and regulatory challenges, enabling the company to establish itself as a pioneering leader in this emerging sector.

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

In my view, the most essential attribute for a modern in‑house lawyer is the ability to go far beyond the traditional understanding of law and to integrate legal thinking seamlessly with the commercial, technical and financial dimensions of the business. Legal advice delivered in isolation is no longer sufficient. What organisations need is counsel who can translate complex regulatory frameworks into actionable and strategically relevant guidance.

To do this well, an in‑house counsel must possess a sense of curiosity. Curiosity drives the willingness to study and understand the technical and financial aspects of projects – sometimes to a level that allows the lawyer not only to assess legal risks but also to help shape the commercial approach. This attribute is particularly vital in sectors like renewables where the regulatory landscape evolves rapidly and where technology and market dynamics are closely intertwined.

Therefore, a modern in-house counsel must be business-oriented, possessing technical and financial acumen (not on the level of engineers or analysts, but sufficient to understand how these elements impact risk, opportunities and contract formulation). They should be well-versed in regulatory matters, collaborative and deeply integrated within the organisation. This entails working closely with technical, commercial and finance teams, contributing to discussions and helping shape decisions rather than merely recording them.

Ultimately, the modern in‑house counsel must evolve into a true partner in the decision‑making process, not just a legal translator of business choices. By being curious, engaged and commercially attuned, today’s in‑house lawyers can actively drive the business forward while ensuring that legal integrity remains at the core of every strategic move.

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?

AI is becoming one of the most transformative technologies shaping the future of work. Hardware capabilities are expanding, models are improving at extraordinary speed and AI‑powered tools are increasingly finding their way into the daily workflows. Having followed these developments for some time, initially with a degree of scepticism, I now see that AI has the potential to significantly reshape also legal work.

My early hesitation stemmed from the uncertainty surrounding AI’s long‑term trajectory and the fact that current tools are not yet capable of replacing the human judgment, creativity and contextual reasoning that sit at the heart of good lawyering.

However, I realised that waiting on the sidelines is not an option. To understand how AI can be integrated responsibly, one must engage with it. I have actively experimented with AI tools focusing on areas where they can deliver immediate, safe value, primarily repetitive, administrative and time‑consuming tasks. AI now assists me in preparing draft summaries, extracting key points from lengthy documents and generating structured notes from meetings. These are tasks that previously consumed hours and now they take minutes.

Importantly, I deliberately do not delegate complex legal analysis or judgment based work to AI. Those tasks require experience, nuance and the ability to understand context, i.e. areas where humans remain indispensable.

This shift has already mirrored a historical transformation in the legal profession. Before digital legal databases existed, research meant spending hours in libraries reviewing physical materials. The introduction of digital legal research tools didn’t replace lawyers. It amplified them. AI represents the next step in that evolution. It is a tool that frees lawyers from routine tasks so they can focus on issues that genuinely require expertise and creativity.

To ensure successful adoption of AI without losing the human element, I believe in‑house counsel should focus on three principles. Firstly, use AI to enhance and not replace human judgment. AI is well‑suited for efficiency tasks – summaries, drafting structure, information extraction, but decisions, strategic advice and risk assessment must remain human‑led. Secondly, adopt a thoughtful, incremental approach. Experiment, evaluate and integrate AI tools gradually. This allows teams to build trust in the technology while maintaining proper oversight. Thirdly, stay curious and engaged. AI will continue to evolve. Lawyers should follow its development with an open mind and a commitment to understanding how it can strengthen the legal function rather than dilute it.

Ultimately, successful integration of AI depends on recognising what it is. It is a tool that should make lawyers more effective not less essential. Used wisely, AI will allow in‑house counsel to devote more time to strategic, complex and impactful work. Precisely the areas where the human element is irreplaceable.