Team size: 7

What are the key projects you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

One of my most significant projects over the past twelve months has been leading the legal workstream supporting the continued evolution of Alpha Trains’ financing platform.

Following the successful implementation of Project Sequoia, which established a new long-term financing platform for the group, I played a central role in the next phase of its development. This included implementing the financing structure designed to refinance Alpha Trains’ green bond obligations and preparing for the repayment of listed green debt. The transaction required extensive coordination between treasury, finance, management, external lenders and legal advisers across multiple jurisdictions.

In parallel, I led a broader programme of legal and corporate reorganisation work to ensure that the group structure remained aligned with its legal requirement. This involved analysing and implementing a number of corporate structure adjustments across the Alpha Trains group.

Can you describe an instance where your legal advice directly influenced business strategy or commercial objectives?

One example was a French passenger rail project that presented an attractive commercial opportunity but also raised a number of legal and financing considerations. My involvement focused on helping management understand how financing restrictions, lender consent requirements and other structural constraints could affect the different options being considered. Working closely with finance, treasury, commercial teams and external advisers, we assessed several potential approaches and their respective implications.

This collaborative work enabled management to compare the available options from both a commercial and risk perspective. The chosen approach sought to balance competitiveness with financing feasibility and legal certainty, while supporting the company’s long-term objectives. The analysis also helped identify and avoid structures that could have created unnecessary financing, consent or reputational challenges at a later stage.

How has the role of general counsel evolved, and what are the most important attributes for the modern in-house lawyer?

The role of general counsel has evolved from technical legal adviser to strategic business partner.

Today, business leaders rarely need someone to identify risks alone. They need someone who can translate those risks into practical solutions, support growth ambitions and help management navigate increasingly complex regulatory and commercial landscapes.

The modern in-house lawyer must combine legal expertise with commercial judgement, communication skills and the ability to influence decision-making without owning the decision itself. The best legal advice is not the advice that says “no”; it is the advice that helps the business achieve its objectives in a legally sound and sustainable way.

In my experience, the most important attributes are business understanding, pragmatism, strategic thinking, integrity and the ability to build trust across the organisation.

How have you implemented AI within your legal team to improve efficiency while maintaining quality and governance – and keeping the human element?

AI is becoming an increasingly important productivity tool within legal functions, but I strongly believe that it should augment professional judgement rather than replace it.

Within my team, we have been exploring the use of AI to streamline document review, legal research, summarisation, first-draft preparation and knowledge retrieval. These tools allow lawyers to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on analysis, negotiation and strategic advice.

However, legal work ultimately involves judgement, context and accountability. We therefore maintain a governance framework whereby AI-assisted outputs are always reviewed by qualified legal professionals before being relied upon. Human oversight remains essential, particularly in high-value financing, governance and regulatory matters.

For me, successful AI adoption is not about replacing lawyers. It is about enabling lawyers to deliver higher-value advice faster while maintaining quality, consistency and professional responsibility.