Team size: 31

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

Technology has enhanced the legal profession’s performance and productivity on so many levels, including, but not limited to, lawyer-client communication and the accessibility to the latest in the law field.

Currently, most of the legal departments are going (or already went) through a digital transformation phase to automate all of their data and processes. Such a transformation, if done properly, will save the in-house lawyers’ time in research, risk assessment+, and the monitoring of the agreements’ life cycles. This will not only relieve the in-house lawyers from such time-consuming exercises, but it will help them to concentrate on giving the most accurate and timely advice to their companies.

This technology evolution makes having the basic technology knowledge necessary for every member in the legal profession, especially for the in-house legal team where the demand to stay up to date with the modern society is the highest.

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

Monitoring the mental and physical health of the in-house lawyers has been always one our legal department’s priorities. It is no secret that in-house lawyers are exposed to high levels of stress and workload, especially in a legal department like ours that plays a fundamental role in supporting the company’s various business sectors.

To release this stress, we encourage and remind our team members to maintain balance between work and personal life and to always adapt a healthy lifestyle. We make sure to celebrate their achievements and milestones and to support them with their difficulties. This also boosts their feelings of belonging to the legal department.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

A successful in-house lawyer is the one who understands its company’s industry, its strengths and weaknesses, its short and long-term objectives, and its competitors and market share. The successful among us are those who creates business protective solutions and approaches, rather than being seen as an obstacle to get the deal done.

Being part of the business team is the key to a successful in-house lawyer. The simple success formula is mainly to facilitate the negotiations, to let go of the overcomplicated legal drafting and replace it with a friendly, yet protective, language and to train and educate the business team to understand the laws related to their industries.

What can law firms do to improve their service to the legal department?

The key improvement would be for the law firms to keep in mind that they are ultimately advising the business team and not only the in-house counsel, so they can avoid the unnecessary elongation and provide simple recommendations.