Team Size: 8

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

The past year’s headline project was Fortum’s acquisition of a major Polish electricity retail provider (Orange Energia). I led the legal workstream for this complex venture – overseeing due diligence, ensuring regulatory approvals (including a merger filing), negotiating the transaction documents, and coordinating closing actions. This required close collaboration with external counsel and our international colleagues, as well as careful attention to Polish corporate formalities and compliance throughout. Beyond Opal, I spearheaded improvements in corporate governance processes for our Polish entities, ensuring that board and shareholder decisions, delegations of authority, and compliance activities are carried out efficiently and consistently. My team also supported various commercial initiatives by reviewing and structuring key contracts (for example, in heat supply, procurement and new customer solutions) to pre-empt legal risks and enable smooth execution.

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

In 2026, in-house counsel faces a landscape of growing regulatory complexity and faster business cycles. Regulatory demands are increasing – whether through stricter data protection laws, new ESG reporting requirements, or industry-specific rules – so legal teams must stay vigilant and proactive about compliance. At the same time, the digitisation of legal work is accelerating. Tools like advanced analytics and AI are becoming more common for tasks such as document review and legal research, so keeping abreast of legal tech (and its proper governance) is essential. Lastly, there is a heightened focus on corporate accountability and culture. Stakeholders and regulators expect companies to uphold strong ethical standards, diversity, and sustainability practices, which means in-house lawyers will play a key role in advising on these issues and ensuring they are embedded in the business.

AI is increasingly being integrated into legal teams to maximise efficiency. How can in-house counsel ensure the successful incorporation of these tools without compromising the human element?

AI should be seen as a helpful assistant to the legal team, not a replacement for human expertise. We deploy AI for high-volume, routine tasks – for example, initial contract reviews or scanning large datasets for compliance issues – which frees up our lawyers’ time. Crucially, we maintain the human element by having lawyers oversee and validate AI outputs: no important decision is made without human review and judgement. It’s also important to set clear policies around AI use (to protect confidential data and define the scope of automation) and to train the team on working effectively with these tools. When implemented carefully, AI can boost efficiency and accuracy, while our legal professionals remain focused on nuanced analysis, strategy, and the human judgement calls that technology can’t replicate.