Could you tell us a bit about your significant successes in your role?

I have been fortunate to have played a critical role in advising on some of the most strategically significant transactions that the Coles Group has implemented in recent years, including initiatives to modernise Coles’ supply chain and, more recently, on the sale of the Coles Express fuel and convenience business to Viva Energy.

I also lead a team of lawyers who are asked to support on a very wide range and high volume of transactions. I have implemented, and continue to work on, innovative tools to enable my team to better prioritise and focus their attention on the most strategically important or higher risk matters, which is where I feel our legal team can add the most value.

In your opinion, what are the qualities and skills needed to form a strong legal team?

Strong in-house teams must not only possess excellent technical legal skills and depth of knowledge across the team to provide high quality and accurate legal advice, but they also need to be able to provide support and advice in a commercially focused, practical and solution-oriented manner.

To do this effectively, high performing in-house lawyers must be personable and approachable, as well as excellent communicators and stakeholder managers. Strong legal teams also need to be able to carve out time to be proactive and to extend their knowledge beyond the law. They need to develop strong relationships with their business stakeholders as well as a deep understanding of their commercial priorities and challenges.

What is the biggest risk to your industry, and how are you contributing to prepare your organisation for this?

In the past few years, Coles has invested in a range of opportunities to simplify and streamline its business. This has seen our business enter a number of new and exciting digital, automation and technology partnerships which my legal team has advised on and supported.

Given the increasingly digital nature of our business, my team needs to be ever more vigilant of data security and privacy risks. As legal representative on Coles’ privacy council, I continue to support our business in implementing robust IT security and privacy risk assessments for new digital engagements, as well as ensuring my own team is upskilled on upcoming potential reforms to Australian privacy law.

What challenges have you overcome to get to the position you are in today?

One the biggest challenges I faced in my career was transition from private practice into an in-house role. I moved in-house at Coles about four years ago, and into a team that supports a very broad range of stakeholders across many business units. I found I had to rapidly learn and understand a large and complex business and work to build trusted relationships with multiple key stakeholders. Working in-house also taught me the need to be more commercially focused and pragmatic in the advice and support that I provide.