Team size: Three

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

Due to the rise and diversity of different types of governance risk, we have spent a lot of our time mitigating them. We have done so by establishing a new management system. Among other things the team have been involved in managing the upstream and downstream of supply chain management, value chain management and disclosures, as well as responding to recent updates in regulation.

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

This example is not only applicable to my company but to others also. We have begun implementing digital seals and enhanced our in-house documentation management and record keeping. There are many tools available on the market and we take enhancing our legal operation seriously. We are currently discussing further innovations that could be made including group alignment, size of business and / or budget. We will keep working on the necessary changes so that we can provide timely, accurate, and valuable service to our stakeholders.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values?

It is important that our external counsel understand and align with our company values, this will allow for a long relationship of trust. We expect our external counsel to be both experienced and professional, but they must have our business values in mind. It is important to us that external lawyers have an interest and certain level of understanding of our business model, market environment, and values as we are asking for advice relating to important matters connected to our strategy and other high-level subjects.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

Business partners tend to think of business as only what is in front of them, however, in-house lawyers must be responsible for the whole enterprise. In-house lawyers are not only responsible for supporting business partners they also need to inspire and provide a different perspective on the business. They must be present and able to offer other options and innovations. To build a strong relationship they must remain close to business partners, so they are available when they are needed and to advise on projects. The in-house team should keep an open door to business partners and most importantly, they must show interest and curiosity in the business, market, and future of the company.