Team size: 10

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

As our team covers ESG topics at group level, the number of topics emerging from the ESG sector were enormous. This was compounded by the day-to-day work we still had to carry out. The spectrum of topics in the ESG field, from non-financial reporting – both from a corporate law and regulatory perspective – to supply chain due diligence, product labelling, greenwashing, ESG Activism and litigation concerns combined with anti-ESG movement is exploding. While this makes our job incredibly interesting, it is quite a challenge to tackle.

Furthermore, the big corporate law reform which went into effect in January 2023 was a big project, alongside non-financial reporting which became mandatory in Switzerland from the 2023 fiscal year, posed quite the challenge for us.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

We increased principle and risk-based approach and provided toolkits, guidelines, and trainings to the business, to reduce the number of legal consultations on day-to-day matters.

We also try to automate approval processes to eliminate manual work and leverage information contained in databases. This provides more time for the team to focus complex legal issues and topics that present larger risks.

However, more time is required to establish the solutions and toolkits and provide training. Furthermore, automation tools require a lot of time to prepare and money to implement – eventually, it will be worth it as lawyers can devote more time to interesting topics and automation tools will significantly reduce admin and routine work.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

As a regulated sector and a large multinational, it is crucial to understand the purpose of regulatory supervision and focus areas. It is additionally important for in-house lawyers to understand what regulatory concerns in other jurisdictions are and the interplay between home regulator and local regulator.