Team size: Five-Six

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

I am involved in all legal aspects of numerous new/planned restaurant openings for the group, including Roka Mykonos, Zuma San Diego, Zuma Montenegro, Zuma Vail, Zuma Milan, Zuma Niseko, Zuma Dubai Beach House and Roka Dubai Six Senses. I assist with a range of legal and business matters arriving from original idea to opening. I also look after the group globally across business areas, so my remit covers intellectual property (IP), data protection, purchasing, licensing and HR, as well as new brands, projects and restaurant openings.

Please provide a brief description of any internal transformation/development projects within your legal team over the last twelve months.

We have introduced and are using AI. We have hired a new head of US.

How do you use AI within your legal team to improve efficiency while maintaining quality, governance and integrity? How do you think AI will impact in-house legal functions more widely?>

We generally use AI as a “first pass” tool: it is incredibly helpful at running a quick first analysis of a document to flag issues for further lawyer review, saving significant time and minimising human error. We also use AI for tasks that do not require a lot of analysis but can be very time intensive e.g. summarising data, proofreading and searching documents for clauses relating to a specific subject/issue. In my view, the development of AI is incredibly exciting; it can reduce the time spent on process-heavy work and reduce the number of legal team “eyes” required on a document. This means lawyers have more time to work more closely with different areas of the business and provide commercial and practical input on wider strategy decisions, rather than being buried in paperwork. That said, it is clear that AI still needs to be used with caution, and AI software can deliver an incorrect answer with complete confidence. Even when it is not incorrect, it lacks the wider commercial context that is key to giving good legal advice. In my view, AI cannot replace a strong legal team, but it can be of great benefit and can help lawyers become better advisors.

How do you manage situations where legal advice and commercial objectives conflict?

There are many situations in which “by the book” legal advice and commercial business objectives conflict, which is why it is key as an in-house lawyer to understand what the business is trying to achieve. Good legal advice, in my opinion, involves understanding the legal issues to determine whether they are material enough to escalate when balanced with the business objective. If there is a real conflict, I try to advise honestly and practically, with the aim of finding a workable solution or compromise where possible. If the conflict is too difficult to overcome, my job is to inform of the risk and decide whether to allow the business to proceed with a decision having understood that risk or hold a strong objection to the proposed action despite the commercial pressure. If the legal risk vs commercial objectives balance is managed effectively day to day, standing your ground on limited occasions that truly warrant it is more likely to be respected and appreciated.

How do you help drive strong governance and ethical decision-making across your organisation?

I am fortunate to work for an organisation that believes in ethical decision-making and truly values people. I try to make sure my team is approachable so people feel they can ask a question or bounce ideas off us without worrying about being told “no”. I believe a legal team can help a business understand the wider impact of its decisions, and lawyers can help to embed a culture that considers a variety of perspectives during the decision-making process. Ultimately this goes further than tick-box compliance; it helps build positive relations with partners, employees and customers alike and is beneficial for a company’s culture and reputation in the long run.