What are the key trends that in-house counsel should be monitoring in 2026?

In-house counsel must closely monitor fast-changing and increasingly complex regulatory frameworks, particularly in highly regulated sectors. As an example, regulations such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) require organisations to adopt more structured, documented, and operational approaches to risk management, ICT resilience, third-party oversight, and incident reporting.

Legal teams are expected not only to interpret these regulations, but also to coordinate implementation across business, IT, compliance, and risk functions. Regulatory change management and proactive regulatory engagement are therefore becoming core in-house capabilities.

Artificial intelligence, including generative AI, is moving from experimentation to embedded use in legal workflows. In-house counsel must balance efficiency gains with governance, data protection, ethical considerations, and regulatory compliance.

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

The most important attributes of a modern in-house counsel include strong commercial awareness and the ability to align legal advice with business objectives. An effective in-house counsel should be rather a strategic partner, providing practical, risk-based guidance than technical legal opinions. In simple words in-depth understanding of the business is an absolute must.

The in-house counsel should also be able to prioritise the tasks, particularly in fast-paced transactional environments such as private equity, where timelines are tight and decisions often involve balancing legal risk against commercial opportunity.

In addition, strong project management and coordination skills are very important, especially when working with multiple external advisors across jurisdictions. And last but not least: clear communication, responsiveness, and the ability to translate complex legal issues into actionable guidance for non-legal partners.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am deeply passionate about the full lifecycle of a business in the private equity context – from acquisition, through strategic development and operational growth, to a successful exit. What motivates me most is being closely involved in how businesses are built and transformed, and in seeing the tangible impact that thoughtful structuring, sound governance, and disciplined execution can have on long-term value creation.

I place particular importance on ensuring that growth is achieved in a compliant, responsible, and sustainable manner. Operating in increasingly complex and regulated environments, I see the role of legal not as a constraint on ambition, but as an enabler of scalable growth. Embedding strong compliance frameworks, risk management, and ethical standards early in the investment lifecycle not only protects the business but ultimately strengthens it and makes it more attractive at exit.

Being able to support management teams and investment professionals throughout this journey, balancing commercial objectives with regulatory and legal discipline, is what I find most rewarding about my role.