Speaker: Zuzan Ismail, in-house counsel at Volvo.

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What was the lecture about?

Zuzan talked about her work as in-house counsel at Volvo, particularly with M&A, and about what the role actually involves in a large organisation. What she emphasised above all was that in-house counsel must dare to be firm and stand by their assessments, and that one needs to maintain a degree of independence within the organisation – ultimately one works for the board and the shareholders, not for any individual within the company.

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What did I learn?

The most valuable insight was how in-house counsel's loyalty is directed towards the company as such rather than towards individuals, and how this presupposes a kind of inner independence. At the same time, I became aware of a tension I had not previously considered: that in practice one is nevertheless dependent on certain people in the organisation, which can make the independence the role demands harder to maintain than it sounds in theory.

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What am I taking with me into my studies?

I took this approach directly into TA-1, where I wrote in the role of in-house counsel and had to weigh the employer's commercial goals against consumer protection and the legitimacy of the legal order. The insight into in-house counsel's independence – and into how it is challenged by actual dependencies – gave that assignment a more realistic understanding of what the role involves.

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