Legal Affairs

The in-house lawyer protects the company’s strategic, business, tax, human-resource and other interests. As a generalist or specialist (in contract law, intellectual property law, litigation or other field), he/she ensures that laws and regulations are properly applied within the field of expertise.

Legal and regulatory watch

• Keeps abreast of the latest changes and developments in domestic, European and/or international law
• Conducts business and competitive intelligence to gain insights into the practices of industry competitors
• Gathers all relevant information from operational departments (documentary sources, competitive intelligence, internally produced resources, etc.)
• Calls on the services of outside experts for advice and insights on specialised topics (intellectual property, international law, etc.)
• Uses legal databases that relate to the company’s specific business activities

Contract drafting and monitoring

• Analyses requirements and advises operational staff (bidding for tenders, drafting framework agreements, negotiated procedures, terms and conditions of sale, partnership agreements, etc.)
• Negotiates and drafts contracts that fall within the area of expertise (commercial law, corporate law, etc.) and that relate to the company’s business activities (construction law, property law, etc.)

Pre-litigation and litigation

• Manages and examines cases (formal demands, court proceedings, etc.)
• Recommends solutions and settles disputes

External representation

• Represents the company, as relevant to its business activities, in its dealings with administrative authorities, courts, consumer organisations, industry bodies, etc.

The in-house tax specialist ensures that the company remains compliant with applicable laws and tax rules while ensuring that the legal framework is applied in a way that maximises value for the business.

Regulatory watch and risk prevention

• Analyses tax-related aspects of the company’s business activities
• Identifies the distinctive tax-related features of these activities and determines their legal and accounting implications
• Keeps the company’s legal and tax-related documentation updated on an ongoing basis
• Monitors the latest tax-related news and developments in France and worldwide
• Writes executive summaries outlining changes to the legal framework and their implications
• Reviews tax returns and contracts with tax implications

Advice

• Advises the finance department and senior management on tax-related matters
• Recommends tax management and optimisation solutions
• Helps train employees in accounting and finance roles

Liaising with the tax authorities

• Monitors tax audits by liaising with the tax authorities
• Identifies and develops defence strategies, negotiated solutions and settlements for tax audits and disputes

International accounting standards

• Examines the tax-related implications of the chosen international standards
• Analyses the specific impacts of international standards on the company’s accounts
• Works with the consolidation department to make consolidation adjustments as required under these standards

The risks and insurance officer enables the company to take controlled risks. He/she designs, deploys and oversees a risk management system and recommends best-fit risk mitigation solutions (insurance, etc.) to support informed strategic decision-making by senior executives.

Risk prevention and ranking

• Identifies and assesses risks (business activities, processes, external events, etc.)
• Produces the risk map
• Leads risk identification and ranking workshops

Risk prevention and management

• Helps define the risk management policy
• Applies risk prevention engineering principles
• Develops action plans and ensures they are implemented
• Coordinates a network of officers responsible for gathering and reporting insights on the ground

Insurance management

• Selects insurers and brokers and maintains relationships with them
• Negotiates and monitors insurance policies

Claims management

• Reports claims
• Manages insurance claim payouts in the company’s interest

Reporting

• Produces regular claims reports for senior management

Competitive intelligence/technology watch

• Keeps abreast of the latest trends and developments in order to foresee evolving risks and predict their impact on the organisation