Team size: Six

Key team members: Ryan Co, Leigh Siazon, Heidi Seva, Katherine Serrano

Our team is well aware of the existing stereotypes that ordinary in-house legal teams may be known for, and made sure that we blend our practices with the culture of Kumu as an organisation. Instead of appearing to be know-it-alls, we decided to actually hear out what other business units had to say. We solved legal issues alongside – not for – our stakeholders, and this collaborative approach further endeared our team to the rest of our organisation.

This is not to say that we had to throw the law out of the window. Far from this, we have actually managed to resolve long-standing or recurring key legal issues with potentially adverse business implications, because our stakeholders are now willing to hear us out as well. A better and more open communication was, and still is, the key to our transformation.

What made the difference in our team is how each of us acted as less of a textbook adviser and more of a business partner, crafting legal advice with business opportunities in mind. Our days became filled with discussions on not just what the law is, but also on how the law could make things happen for our organisation. We were no longer just problem identifiers; we became problem solvers. This helped enable our stakeholders to take calculated business risks that could not have been considered otherwise.

Our team also managed to keep things fun. Some in-house teams dream of work-life balance. Despite the pandemic and remote working arrangements, we made time to travel together this year. We joke around, make fun of ourselves, and connect with each other outside of work. These are things that most teams may have forgotten, but which our team realised are very important to keep the stress out of our systems. Magical things do happen when you are enjoying your work, and our team has proven just that, with our stakeholders’ satisfaction as evidence.