| Shire
Shire
Shire’s Eurasia Middle East and Africa legal function is headquartered in Dubai, with team members dotted around Russia, India, Turkey and South Africa. Head counsel Narguiz Birk-Petersen explains that the coordination of these geographically distant individuals requires a multi-pronged approach: ‘Everyone has a core responsibility, but if – for example – we are overworked in one region we will direct resources from other regions. Lawyers can support other locations on secondments, which is not only interesting for them but helps develop the function and builds a sense of collective responsibility. Technology such as WebEx allows us to see each other face to face during our regular meetings, which helps us feel closer to one another’. In addition to joint ventures, public-private partnerships and other major projects across the markets covered by the team, it has a valuable risk assessment function to undertake for the business. Some of the territories it operates in are, or could potentially become, the targets of economic sanctions, meaning the team is required to be highly knowledgeable on the ground and alert to any potential issues that may occur relating to this. Birk-Petersen believes that a ‘shared philosophy in terms of work ethic and approach to issues is as important, if not more, than specific competencies in a particular area’ for Shire in-house lawyers. She further explains that: ‘Our lawyers are all technically first-grade, but legal competencies alone are not enough. Stakeholder management, business understanding, the ability to prioritise and work under pressure, accountability, problem-solving and other skills that go above and beyond are the types of qualities that make this team special’.
