How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

In my view, general counsel should act as a foundation of stability for the organisation during periods of uncertainty. It should be a function that other departments can rely on for the support and assurance needed to take measured risks, enabling business units to grow their core operations, enter new markets, and develop new products.

A strong legal team that works strategically alongside internal stakeholders can make a significant difference to both the development and long-term stability of the organisation.

We are currently living through a time of geopolitical change, and the world order that we have come to take for granted for many years is being rewritten. Does this affect your company’s risk profile and, if so, what are you doing to mitigate this?

I would again emphasise the importance of a strategic legal function that remains closely attuned to business development. When combined with strong collaboration with internal stakeholders, this enables the legal team to anticipate the organisation’s next steps and undertake preventive compliance measures, helping to ensure that geopolitical changes and commercial instability do not adversely impact the business.

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

With the world constantly changing and undergoing major commercial innovation – often with little legislative framework in place – in-house lawyers must always remain alert and engaged with the business and the company’s next steps. Effective collaboration with all teams across the company, in order to gain a broad overview of the business and proactively manage the risks that future developments may present, will be a key differentiator.