What impact did the pandemic have on the Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology Industries in Ireland? 

Since the start of the pandemic, the key focus of Pfizer was to develop breakthrough medicines to alleviate the pandemic. The company had to achieve this whilst at the same time ensuring that we continued to supply medicines to patients and continued to provide a safe working environment for our colleagues. Both the colleagues who still came to site and those who started to work from home really demonstrated their flexibility in adapting quickly to new ways of working whilst continuing to deliver on medicines supply. Working in a global market and so as with many other industries, we saw the importance of operating efficiently across multiple jurisdictions to cope with the business challenges posed by the pandemic.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

The same way as the business sector is going through fast innovations, the in-house lawyers are also expected to keep pace on innovative ways to provide legal support, whether it is using cutting-edge technology to deliver certain legal functionality or eliminating bureaucracy by reducing the hierarchy of the organisational structure to empower lawyers to take risk management decisions without the need for layers of approval. In Pfizer, there is a big impetus to drive standard process-driven activity through centralised hubs so that lawyers and other professionals can focus on the real value-add, strategic work, and that takes a mindset change to drive those processes through into practical implementation. In-house lawyers have always been particularly good at understanding the business they work in, both internally and externally, but the importance to stay on top of trends in the larger external environment is emphasised now more than ever. This might be in the digital space, industry experience outside your own, the regulatory setting or the broader political and social context. There is also a lot to learn from the new generation of lawyers coming into the business and so onboarding is very much a two-way street. At the end of the day, for any in-house lawyer, adaptability is the key skillset and that should always be paired with a desire to drive innovation.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Global perspective, technology adoption, innovation and adaptability will be key skills to have, but business acumen, a practical solution-driven mindset, and an ability to build relationships will always remain high on the list.