What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?

There are two key things I would like to highlight. First, a number of key M&A transactions: the acquisition of AIG’s UK protection business, entry into the Lloyd’s market via the acquisition of Probitas and completion of the acquisition of Direct Line. Second is the development of our legal function capabilities, where I have been specifically focused on building our sustainability and generative AI capabilities so that these are part of the core skill and knowledge set.

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

The ability to work in partnership as trusted advisers. I very much see the role of the modern in-house counsel as protecting the organisation they work for by doing the right thing. The purpose I set for the Legal function at Aviva is to do the right thing and work with the business to drive growth and deliver the best possible outcome for our customers. We have a key role to play in delivering the strategy by working together and our own legal function strategy is completely aligned with the broader business strategy. We have the same strategic goals and work towards the same deliverables.

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

This is a key priority, and I am committed to continuing to build a diverse and inclusive function. My focus is to make meaningful and long-lasting commitments to drive change. One of the ways in which we do this is through our Social Mobility Initiative. Each year we develop a full programme of activity which includes school visits, Social Mobility Business Partnership Days across several of our offices, virtual sessions including insight sessions and a 6 week internship giving participants insight across legal areas and teams as well as with the law firms we work with to give them tangible experience on which to build their careers. We are delighted that a high proportion of our previous interns have had success in securing a training place at law firms following their involvement. More broadly, we have specific DEI goals for our function which we are focused on delivering. These include continuing to build an inclusive culture within our function and driving change more broadly across the legal sector.