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

I manage a Global Team with lawyers in the US, Europe and the UK. We have supported a number of Business Development transactions over the last 12 months, including complex collaborations with life science companies, mergers & acquisitions and product divestments. Our technology practice area has been particularly busy in recent months. From a transactional perspective we have negotiated deals with both big tech and niche AI start-ups. We have also supported our Global Business in navigating the emerging legal and privacy risks arising from use of GenAI and Agentic AI solutions.

What do you see as an opportunity or risk over the next six months?

We will see a continued focus on AI work, both from a contractual standpoint as we negotiate deals with third parties to use AI in our Business, and from a legal tech perspective as we look at how we can adopt AI solutions to increase efficiencies in our legal work. This will involve discussions with our external law firms to push them to responsibly adopt AI and work with us to drive time and cost efficiencies.

As the legal landscape evolves, what steps are you taking to foster a culture of continuous learning and development within the legal team, ensuring that they are all well-equipped to address future legal complexities?

We are fortunate to be supported by a fantastic network of Legal, AI and IT colleagues at AstraZeneca, and have been quick to identify how we might adopt emerging GenAI solutions. This includes company-wide AI learning programmes, as well as more targeted prompt sessions tailored to specific legal teams. As part of a science-driven organisation, innovation is always encouraged, and team members are open to sharing ideas and asking questions. We recognise that everyone is at a different stage of their AI learning journey.

We are also proactively engaging with our external law firms to learn from them and to share our expectations regarding how we envisage using AI in the future. We see a significant opportunity for AI to add value and to free up lawyers’ time to focus on higher-value activities.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

Learning agility and a mindset of continuous improvement are essential. My in-house role today is radically different from when I started, and I have no doubt it will continue to evolve in the months and years ahead. It is important to stay humble, learn from colleagues and your external network, and remain intellectually curious. I truly believe this is a very exciting time to be in the legal profession, whether in private practice or in-house.