Legal Insights with Theresa Chikwendu: A Monthly Digest for In-House Counsel (August 2024)

In this seventh edition of “Legal Insights with Theresa Chikwendu“. Theresa, an experienced legal professional at MTN Nigeria, offers her expertise and reflections on:

• Legal Business Partner:
  The Legal Department is first and foremost a business partner to the company. In-house counsel must be strategic in ensuring they give the business sound legal advice focused on protecting the company while understanding the commercial objectives of the business.

• Stakeholder Management:
  The writer discusses the perception of the Legal department as the “Department of No” and suggests improving the experience of non-legal colleagues by using Service Level Agreements (SLAs). They propose that In-House Counsel establish clear timelines and collaborative expectations through SLAs with internal stakeholders. This approach aims to enhance the user experience and foster a more collaborative relationship with the Legal department. The writer encourages feedback on this idea and invites readers to follow related discussions using specific hashtags.

• Communication Skills:
  Communication skills is one of the bedrocks for success in the legal profession. As lawyers, we are often guilty of listening to respond, rather than to understand. But effective communication is crucial for conveying our value proposition to the business and establishing ourselves as trusted business and legal advisors.