About

US-trained lawyer Mark Beariault says he has successfully adapted to the culture and practices of a Swiss company. Instead of imposing a US-style legal practices, he says he tried to ‘selectively marry best practices and perspectives among a diverse and talented team’. He admits that it took more time to accomplish but the ultimate result has been ‘enhancement of the legal service we are able to provide to the company and an all-round better image for the in-house legal team’. His other achievements include fostering methods to better align the legal department with the business needs of the company. He has worked on relationship building and proactive involvement, by successfully establishing primary legal contacts for each business unit to facilitate information exchange. In terms of regional hiring activity, he has selectively expanded the legal team with a location geographical-mix of knowledge and experience in order to ‘add local legal expertise and language abilities’. As a leader, Mark has shown great supportive qualities; in terms of professional development of his team, he has taken a tailored approach by encouraging each member to expand their professional skills through additional training, education and job responsibilities that match both personal interests and anticipated needs of the company.