The bigger topic we wanted to tackle was how to use more AI in a smart way in our day-to-day legal work. This led to a very concrete ‘dream come true’ project: we used the tool Vertex AI to set up a system that analyses all incoming legal communications, such as letters and emails, on non-complex matters and prepares draft answers for our review based on our pre-approved responses. This saved us so much time that we were then able to dedicate more of our efforts to more rewarding and strategic work.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

I follow a ‘Leading in Complexity’ approach: ask different questions, take multiple perspectives — paying particular attention to those perspectives you may be overlooking — experiment and learn, reflecting on what has surprised you, and see the systems at play, considering what forces are influencing the challenge. We begin by examining the broader business strategy and then draft the legal strategy from a top-down perspective. 

Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on, of which you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful?

The use of AI tools, such as Notebook LM and Gemini, to address “first-line” legal questions, allowing our in-house legal teams to focus on the more complex and engaging matters. This approach also ensures that we only involve external counsel for the more challenging issues, thereby providing greater efficiency and breathing space for our legal budgets.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

The Ocean Cleanup, and The River Cleanup. I had the opportunity to work for Google in São Paulo, Brazil, where you are confronted with nature in both its most brutal force and its most fragile state. This experience made me even more conscious of the importance of such initiatives and of how new technologies — alongside our own actions — can contribute to a direct, positive impact.