Event for in-house legal teams to be held biennially

After the positive outcome of Legal Team 2012, the recent conference for in-house legal teams at the Chamber of Commerce’s seat in Valletta, organiser Lead Events is to hold the event biennially.

Lead Events managing director James Grech said the company will continue to examine new niche areas and partner other professional bodies to organise similar events.

Keynote speaker Julia Chain, managing director of Huron Consulting of the UK, addressed the theme ‘Managing risks across the business’.

She advised participants to review material corporate governance risks in organisation and allocate time and resources accordingly. Dr Chain stressed the importance of understanding the in-house legal team’s vital role.

“Risk is at the door of in-house lawyers now within corporations,” she said.

“In today’s world, we are becoming increasingly regulated and litigious. There is a whole raft of real issues around social media. There is an increasingly complex risk profile in the world today. Make sure that what you do, implement or revise will be to international standards. It is important particularly in Malta, where you are surrounded by any number of different jurisdictions, where you are increasingly becoming a hub for other global interests. Risk is increasingly becoming an international conversation and cannot be looked at solely domestically.”

Chamber of Advocates president Reuben Balzan spoke on the role of in-house lawyers. Gordon Cordina detailed major drivers of the economy over the next five years as set out in Malta’s National Reform Programme within the changing EU and global setting. Camilleri Preziosi Advocates partner Louis Degabriele focused on corporate governance and the role of the in-house lawyer.

Melita plc’s head of legal and regulatory affairs Theresienne Mifsud profiled in-house counsel. Bank of Valletta chief officer, legal and compliance, Michael Borg Costanzi, shared his personal experience of the evolution of the in-house lawyer.

Celebrity Events Malta conducted an energiser session and Achieve Business Consultancy and Training partner Malcolm Naudi showcased a new Franklin Covey training solution called the ‘5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity’.