What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?  

It has been a financially difficult 12 months for many individuals, businesses, and countries around the world. This has particularly challenged the sector I work in – technology – as customers spend less and investors increasingly focus on costs. Many colleagues across the technology industry, including at my organisation, have unfortunately lost their jobs. 

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?  

I should ask an AI chatbot to answer this question for me. Seriously though, AI will be massive for in-house legal teams. A large part of our role is to intake large amounts of information, analyse it, and output a clear, concise explanation. AI will soon be able to do this for us. Fortunately, there will still be a lot of work for in-house lawyers, particularly in providing human insights that so far have eluded machines – we will still have to perform the critical task of balancing competing risks and recommending the best path forward.  

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?      

Probably the most important quality for in-house lawyers in the technology industry is adaptability. Technology is constantly changing. The business is constantly changing. The laws are constantly changing. We need to be able to change too.