What are the most significant cases and transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

We have had quite a few intellectual property lawsuits and challenges over the last couple of years. The biggest one is defending and enforcing patent litigation around Europe. We have also had a number of M&A activities.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

It is a lot more work in loungewear, rather than in suits and ties. Like everybody else, Teams calls have replaced face-to-face meetings, which was challenging but we learned to do it. We have all become better at engaging with technology like this. However, when we are trying to do complex IP litigation, there is no real substitution for sitting in a room with the engineers and talking through patents or technologies to be able to understand what is unique about the invention. Questions such as, ‘what was the complex, innovative, patentable idea that they had?’ to be able to defend it. Those types of interactions are the challenges for in-house teams that have now become technology focused.

What will be the main focus for the company in the next 12 months and how do you intend to assist with this?

Operationally, we are continuing to focus on growth through ongoing acquisitions and technological improvements. This goes back to the first question, where our key business achievements have been in M&A litigation. We hope to continue that path to find, develop, and acquire innovative technologies to allow us to further optimise operations.

From a legal perspective, we hope to continue to provide services in a business environment where the movement is challenged. The ability to go and develop relationships and understand the business teams is limited, or it is increasingly becoming more offside. Therefore, how to provide service to the business is our biggest challenge.

What do you feel are the pros and cons of an in-house legal role compared to a private practice one?

In private practice, lawyers get to know a small section of the business intimately but only for a short period of time. In contrast, in-house counsel must know all aspects of the business at a deep level across the whole spectrum of legal practice. It is not just M&A, finance, litigation, or IP. We must be prepared for everything. We still rely heavily on the expertise of our outside counsel. However, when it comes to understanding our business needs and challenges, it is the role of in-house counsel. When you have that trust and working relationship with the business teams it is a level of ongoing and continuing satisfaction that you do not often get with external counsel.