Does the team use any “legal tech” products, and do you find them a helpful management device?

My legal team is always looking for innovative solutions that can contribute to better legal solutions, improve results, and facilitate day-to-day management decisions. As an in-house legal team, we are always trying to find recent technology and products that can help ease the management workload. This way, the team can focus on providing excellent service to all the company’s areas. Regretfully, modern technologies only compose about 50% of our management requirements.

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

I envision that now more than ever; the role of a general counsel and in-house legal team will evolve from a typical legal service provider to a truly strategic role. The in-house legal role must evolve to deliver a competitive advantage over other companies by anticipating future risks.

If we have learned something from the pandemic, it is that we need to learn each day and increasingly prepare not just for the planned objectives but also unanticipated matters that can arise in conflict with planned objectives.

Traditionally the in-house legal role in our region is focused on providing service and is viewed as necessary ‘expense’ to organisations. As I mentioned before, moving forward all in-house lawyers will need to either start or continue to envision themselves as strategic partners to their peers within other areas of the company, and not solely legal service providers. This quote puts it justly, ‘legal in-house departments will be seen more as business generators rather than solely service and expense generators’ .

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

There must be an ability to adapt to change quickly. Just as a lot of colleagues had to learn to work within a hybrid environment, we will also need to learn to be as adaptable as possible.

Life has taught us that when confronted with unforeseen circumstances such as the existing pandemic or another like its kind, the legal service must be able to provide and function in a speedy and efficient way.