Team size:   Six

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

During periods of instability or crisis, our legal team operates with a clear mandate: to safeguard the organisation’s integrity, enable swift and informed decision-making, and reinforce resilience across all levels of the business.

Our approach is anchored in three core principles: (i) Preparedness through Governance and Scenario Planning; (ii) Rapid Legal Risk Assessment and Strategic Counsel; and (iii) Integrated Response and Communication. This approach has enabled us to respond effectively to a range of challenges—from environmental liabilities to regulatory shifts – while maintaining the trust of our stakeholders and the continuity of our operations.

AI has been taken seriously as a potentially revolutionary technological change in the legal world for a number of years now. Has it had a meaningful impact in how your legal team works in this time?

AI has begun to reshape how our legal team operates—though in a measured and responsible way. We’ve participated in pilot programs for tools like Microsoft Copilot and are actively exploring AI-enabled platforms used across the business.

We’ve contributed to the development of BHP’s Responsible AI governance framework, which ensures that any AI adoption aligns with ethical, legal, and operational standards. Training initiatives have helped upskill our team, preparing us to advise on AI-related risks and opportunities. While we are still in the early stages of transformation, the foundations are now in place for more scalable and strategic use of AI in legal work.