Team size: 5 including me (4 qualified solicitors and 1 solicitor apprentice). Our in-house legal team, first established in 2018, comprises four qualified commercial lawyers: one Legal Counsel; two Senior Legal Counsel; and headed by the Director of Legal Affairs, who reports into the Company Secretary & Director of Governance. In addition, with an ambition to improve social inclusion in the legal sector, we recruited a school-leaver legal apprentice in 2022, who is now a Level 7 Solicitor Apprentice in her third year.

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months? [Please clearly mark anything that you do not want us to publish.]

Given the embedded nature of the legal team at Autotrader, we are involved in all major projects and initiatives. Some of the key projects I have been involved with include: the launch of Co-Driver, our suite of AI-enabled features, which are designed to help retailers and consumers buy and sell more efficiently (and include features such as smart image management, AI generated descriptions and vehicle key selling points). My team actively supported the roll-out of the features and advised on a range of legal issues including around IP and advertising law and the evolution of our trading terms and conditions to ensure that we’re adequately protected against risks.

Our digital retailing proposition, Deal Builder, is a flexible, start-stop consumer journey that allows buyers to complete as much of their purchase online as they choose. Deal Builder was first introduced in 2022 and the legal team has supported as the product has been scaled-up to all retailers advertising on Autotrader (which is currently over 13,000). Amongst other changes, the continually evolving product will apply to non-FCA authorised retailers’ adverts for the first time, and will mean that car buyers can select a finance quote provided via our third-party broker partner. This project has involved advising on and negotiating a network of complex data sharing arrangements involving brokers, retailers and their panels of lenders, and the retailers’ third-party technology providers. I have also been heavily involved in advising on legal issues arising from the user journeys.

In 2024, Autotrader launched its own vehicle check service, no longer relying on third party vehicle check providers to supply the service. This involved sourcing vehicle data directly from a vast array of data suppliers, and required the creation of a number of framework contracts and the negotiation of contracts with automotive industry key stakeholders, including the DVLA, insurers and finance companies, all within a strict project timetable.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

A willingness to embrace change and an ability to quickly determine what is most important to the business on any given day. The pressures on a modern in-house counsel are multi-faceted and include workflow management, budget management, team recruitment, development and retention, external counsel oversight, and personal/professional development, not to mention a full commercial legal workload of your own! However, developing solid commercial relationships and keeping in close contact with the business and its strategic objectives, especially working at an agile, progressive market leader such as Autotrader, is essential to be able to do your job properly and make the right decisions.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive work environment?

We could all always do better when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and it should never be something that is considered ‘completed’.

All members of the Autotrader legal team work part-time and we have fostered a hardworking but distinctive family and wellbeing-first approach. We invest in the professional development of the team, with members regularly attending external training to stay abreast of the latest legal updates and engaging in other opportunities (e.g. three members of the team recently filmed an episode of Autotrader’s “Roadmap” podcast). We have also recruited a school leaver legal apprentice to further demonstrate our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The result is that I have a team of extremely bright, hard-working, determined and humble individuals, with each of them bringing their own unique take on commercial/legal matters (and with the added bonus that they all possess a fantastic sense of humour and are very approachable – essential when working in an organisation as big and fast moving as Autotrader!).

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about social mobility generally and particularly within the legal profession. The legal sector has long been inaccessible to many people from certain socio-economic backgrounds. I faced my own hurdles entering the legal industry from my socio economic background, and have seen first-hand how diversity in the profession brings new perspectives and approaches. Autotrader are committed to diversity and inclusivity and have a rich history of taking on apprentices across all disciplines. They were hugely supportive of me celebrating social mobility in my own team and recruiting a legal apprentice in 2022, who is now a solicitor apprentice in her third year.