Disclaimer: Brie L.B. Buchanan left Relay Payments while this research was being conducted, in November 2022.

Team size: Two

What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have recently been involved in?

Our team handles the legal and compliance needs for our rapidly scaling Fintech. As a payment processor for the logistics industry, Relay Payments is modernising how brokers, carriers, and drivers make payments efficiently. To do this, the legal team stays abreast of supply chain issues and new regulations affecting our customers on the road, as well as the financial and compliance concerns for electronic payment systems.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

There are so many documents that legal departments must manage – and manage well. While there is a lot of legal tech around document and contract management today – nothing seems to make every in-house attorney happy. We still seem to be waiting for the unicorn, and I believe this will come some time soon. Someone is going to release the one system that hits all the points!

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Corporate legal teams need to continue to hire individual lawyers that have the capacity and intelligence to expand their practice. As law firm rates continue to increase and new regulations pour out, it is more important than ever that in-house attorneys have the ability to pivot and learn a new area of the law. When at large, global law firms, my primary practice was intellectual property litigation, with a heavy focus on patents, however, once I went in-house, it was clear that I could best help the company by handling as many questions as I could, including areas of the law I had never had to tackle before. For example, I pivoted as necessary to develop knowledge on certain employment matters for union negotiations, or when GDPR was passed, I pivoted to ensure I could best advise the executive team on privacy and create a compliance plan to address it. This will continue to be a key factor for in-house departments looking to increase their value and lower costs.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

Be sure to ask specifically about the business partner’s goals. Ask about both personal and professional goals and ask how you can help them achieve those goals. I have learned from working in-house that business partners often think of the legal department as one to avoid due to their risk aversion. But by simply asking partners about their goals and becoming invested in them too, you can demonstrate that deep understanding that is pivotal to trust. You can show them that you are there to help and to provide the best solutions to support their goals even in the face of risk.