Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

In SAP we do believe in the power of many (experience, backgrounds). In this frame, we organise the Legal Sprint Sessions. The legal organisation identifies issues that affect legal work and then we select which issue we would like to work on. Each team is comprised of a sponsor, a lead and the team members. This year, I was the sponsor of the team that had to update a manual with alternative wording on our general terms and conditions for a specific line of business. This is a valuable tool in the hands of the in-house lawyer when negotiating with customers because it sets out all the parameters (legal, operations, security, and revenue recognition) that are affected by changes on our standard wording and need to be considered.  

This year, we decided to follow a new process. We separated the tasks into three categories: easy, more difficult and experts only. 

The ‘easy’ task was mainly to adjust the formatting and make the manual easier to handle (thus, saving time while using it). 

The ‘more difficult’ task was to connect clauses of the manual with other documents and to address common customer requests. This would provide the lawyer with a wide view of how different teams within SAP connect and in what ways they could possibly affect each other.   

The ‘expert only’ was to provide fallback positions and to also describe the rationale behind the current terms. This perspective gives the in-house lawyer a deep understanding of non-legal (such as technological, operational, security, and industry specific) matters, thus enabling them to clarify all customer concerns. 

The legal team does not operate outside of business, and operational risks can easily turn into legal risks, unless a supporting frame is built around the in-house lawyers that educates, informs and trains them on critical matters for the operations of their employer.  

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?   

Choosing the right people for your extended team has equal significance as choosing the right people for your internal team: cultural compatibility is an absolute must and for me, it is more than simply operating in the same way. The external lawyers have unique insights on our business and are an invaluable partner. For this exact reason and because SAP is committed to the highest standards of ethical business, any collaboration has to occur with external lawyers who actively and continuously also nurture a culture of integrity within their organisations and towards their customer or vendors. If they cannot stand up to our standards, then such relationship cannot continue.