Team size: 2

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

Over the past twelve months, I have, inter alia, been heavily involved in negotiations and the closing of two large shipbuilding contracts between Ulstein Verft and Optic Marine for design, construction, and delivery of two cable laying vessels and several major subcontracts connected therewith, as well as negotiations and the closing of contracts for rebuilding of two vessels for large international shipowners and subcontracts connected therewith.

I have provided support in the negotiations and closing of a contract for supply of design to a major Chinese shipyard, as well as several other contract negotiations, contract reviews, holding internal courses and dilemma trainings, etc.

I have also been involved in the follow-up of ongoing shipbuilding projects and delivery thereof, including two Windfarm Maintenance and Service Vessels to companies within the Bernhard Schulte Offshore group, two Windfarm Maintenance and Service Vessels to companies within the JP Morgan group and one cable laying vessel to Nexans.

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

I believe that the most important attributes for modern in-house counsel are understanding the business context and balancing the legal risk with strategic objectives and strong commercial judgement, translating complex legal issues into practical and doable advice, adapting AI and other digital tools in a sensible manner in order to manage emerging legal and ethical risks, maintaining integrity, sound judgement and ethical standards even under (strong) commercial pressure, and working closely with management and stakeholders as a trusted and reliable business partner.

As AI becomes increasingly integrated into legal teams, and the pressure grows to ‘do more with less’, how can GC balance efficiency, quality and human judgement?

In my opinion, the main challenge for GCs is not choosing between efficiency and judgement but making sure they work well together. AI can be a powerful support tool in handling large volumes of work such as preparing first drafts, initial document reviews, research and issue spotting, which enables legal teams to work faster and frees up time to focus on what matters the most: legal judgement, strategy, and managing risks. The goal when using AI is not only to get more work done, but also to deliver better-quality advice.

The quality of the work when using AI will largely depend on clear ‘guardrails’. GCs need to be clear about when AI can assist and when human review is essential – especially in matters involving significant risks, judgement calls, and/or ethical considerations. Strong governance around data use, accuracy, responsibility, and final sign-off is critical.

As AI takes over more routine tasks, human judgement becomes even more important. AI is good at patterns and speed, but it does not necessarily understand context, business realities, or long-term consequences in the way experienced lawyers do. The GC’s role increasingly lies in asking the right questions (prompting), challenging outputs, checking sources and ensuring that the legal advice reflects the organisation’s values and risk appetite.

In short, GCs can balance efficiency, quality, and human judgement by treating AI as a helpful assistant, well governed and carefully supervised, while maintaining responsibility, judgement, and accountability firmly with humans.