In-house legal departments have traditionally had one focus; the business. Their role has always been to provide their employer with advice on the whole range of legal matters that apply to the business, their services and products. In-house counsel are expected to add value to their business by providing a perceptive service; delivering technical know-how in a way that has a lasting impact on the business bottom line; providing commercially shrewd advice; and contributing to developing the strategic direction of the business. As long as the legal department delivers on its mandate to the business, it has fulfilled its purpose. And yet now, there is a new breed of general counsel; the kind that seeks to take on a purpose larger than service to the business.
On Thursday the 19th of May 2022, the East African Breweries PLC legal function did something different; something perhaps indicative of the shift in the role of in-house legal departments and something we certainly hope to see more. The EABL legal function invited the legal profession to a symposium dubbed ‘The Great Reflection: Our Prediction of the Next 100 years; an event curated as part of the larger EABL at 100 celebrations. Over 2,000 advocates followed the keynote address by Tom Shropshire (General Counsel & Company Secretary, Diageo PLC), a curation of EABL’s legal highlights over the last one hundred years by the host, Nadida Rowlands (Group Legal Director, EABL PLC), a speech by the Law Society of Kenya President, Eric Theuri and two very well composed panels. This symposium drew a mix of well known, well respected in-house counsels and advocates practising in law firms.
Legal departments have focused on delivering business-first counsel to their employers, and have hardly maintained a brand, voice or agenda of their own. Nevertheless, the leadership at the EABL legal functiom seems to think otherwise. By using the EABL at 100 celebrations to engage the leadership of the Law Society of Kenya and the profession at large, the Nadida-led department set itself apart as a thought leader, convener and conversation-starter and set the stage for other general counsel to follow suit and in essence, predicting the future by creating it. The EABL legal department found a way to balance “clearing the path” for the brewery to conduct its business with success and to, in the same breath, distinguish itself by leading an agenda distinct from that of the corporate. It is our prediction that the future of law entails more in-house-led conversations that tap into the subject matter expertise of general counsel. Following this department’s lead, we foresee more legal departments taking up topics and facilitating spaces for debate.
By choosing to talk about the future of the practice of law, the EABL legal department, by design or default, set itself up as a catalyst for growth within the legal profession. As one would expect, the use of technology featured heavily in the predictions of what is to come in law and the part-digital nature of the symposium was testament to that fact. It is indeed worth mentioning that over two thousand lawyers tuned in to follow discussions online.
The host, Nadida Rowlands, predicted that technology would take centre-stage, and that the future heralded paperless practice. Aside from technology, the team leader cited disruption of law firms and innovative approaches towards providing affordable legal services as things to look forward to. In his eyes, the future lawyer will be public service oriented, true to justice, resilient and well versed in the ins and outs of business. Additionally, she would need to learn to collaborate and communicate because of the globalisation of the law practice.
In his address, the General Counsel at Diageo, Tom Shropshire very wisely alluded to the saying, “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. Rather than predict the future, he spoke about the constants that will continue to shape the future. His counsel was three pronged. First was a consideration of climate change and how it affects how we transact, live and invest. Secondly, he spoke about community impact. In his estimation, lawyers will continue to shape the societies in which they live by being relevant in their communities. Finally, he submitted that there is no future of law without responsibility, transparency and accountability of the legal practitioner.
EABL, the corporate, has taken extensive steps to decrease its direct and indirect emissions by shifting to an environmentally friendly biomass plant to power our manufacturing operations at the factory. This suggests that climate change is a substantial player in their business and consequently, legal practice. It is anticipated that this subject will lend for future conversations by the legal fucntion. Further, reading from Mr. Shropshire’s script, EABL is keen on its community, in this case its value chain. This is evident in their “Grain to Glass” philosophy. We predict more dialogue on the impact of in- house practice on the business value chain.
Finally, we foresee an increase in engagement with younger members of the bar. This symposium was curated as a reflection on the past, the panels were rich and represented a demographic that is older and more established in practice. While their perspectives were substantive and thought-provoking, we look forward to more sessions where younger men and women of the bar “see visions”. We foresee panels and events with more students, younger lawyers and techies creating the future of legal practice.
In conclusion, in the wisdom of Tom Shropshire, we can expect to see a revival of the origins of legal practice. More lawyers, in-house and in practice, will retake their mantle as advisors and shapers of the life of society. However, the crux of the matter is in how creatively the future will echo the past. Happy 100th birthday East African Breweries PLC!
