Team size: two

Can you briefly explain how the legal team is structured, highlighting key individuals and their role within the department?

The legal team consists of two persons: the head of legal and compliance officer reporting directly to the general counsel in the Alliance Healthcare Group, with a dotted line to the managing director of the Norwegian businesses. The head of legal and compliance officer forms part of the Norwegian management team and has one direct report – the compliance and privacy manager. The Norwegian management team is a shared management team for the two companies: Alliance Healthcare Norge Apotekdrift and Alliance Healthcare Norge, respectively the company operating the Boots pharmacies and the wholesale company. The legal team is responsible for all legal matters, compliance, and privacy related issues for both companies. The legal team also hosts the role as data protection officer and the board secretary.

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

The legal team recently assisted the business in securing one of the largest public tender contracts in Norway, whereby Alliance Healthcare Norge was selected as the sole wholesaler to the Norwegian hospitals for a total of eight years overall.

In addition, the legal team is involved in the development of the new pharmacy platform for the company, where the existing pharmacy system will be replaced with a more modern and tailor-made pharmacy system in all Boots pharmacies operated by Alliance Healthcare Norge Apotekdrift. The legal team has assisted in the drafting and negotiations of the relevant IT contracts relating to the development and implementation of the system, as well as advising on any legal questions arising in the process. The legal team has also been a key stakeholder in the recent transition of local ownership from the NASDAQ listed WalgreensBootsAlliance to NYSE listed AmerisourceBergen. The legal team contributed to commercial negotiations securing the future interest of the Norwegian business.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel? 

The pandemic has certainly changed the way the employees interact with one another as remote working has been a central way of working recently. The pandemic has demonstrated that legal work can be performed as efficiently digitally, whereas human interaction, which is often fundamental in the day-to-day work life, cannot be replaced by digital tools. One of the most visible consequences of the pandemic for in-house counsel has been the reshaping of the role to become more strategic. The need for interpretations of the rules and quick decision making during the pandemic made the in-house counsel more of a strategic advisor rather than a compliance-focused role.

Ane Løchen Johnstad
Head of legal and compliance officer
Alliance Healthcare Norge Apotekdrift