We sat down with Excelya’s European Head of Legal Affairs Konstantina Pateli, to discuss the collaborative function of the legal team she heads up.
Most people’s ‘typical’ day at work changed dramatically after the COVID outbreak, as working from home became a necessity. Mine is no different.
So, a typical day for me starts with an early rise, intending to take advantage of the morning peace to get as much work done as possible before emails, calls and meetings start.
As the head of our legal department, I co-operate with the majority of Excelya’s business departments, aiding them with any legal functions and needs. Our department’s primary aim is to prevent risks and create quality deliverables for our clients.
Collaborating regularly with other business units, our legal department offers a business-oriented methodology with regards to any issues our organisation is dealing with. As such the legal arm of Excelya is an integral part of the business, helping every department within the organisation to run smoothly, safely and efficiently.
In terms of my daily work, it usually involves reviewing and drafting various types of agreements in relation to projects and studies in which Excelya is engaged, supporting its regulatory compliance functions, and generally providing legal advice in respect to Excelya’s day-to-day activities.
I consider my work quite exciting – the continuous growth of Excelya and its integration in various companies and activities is a rather new and challenging thing for me, as with most of us! What I also find very exciting working in the multinational environment of Excelya is communicating with people from all over the world, being acquainted with different legal and business cultures and getting to learn new things every day. Indeed, there is so much more to the role than carrying out the purely legal work.
Frankly speaking, as I am becoming involved in many issues around Excelya’s evolving operations, I have come to realise that there is no such thing as a typical day really: new things come up every day, which we need to prioritise, according to the project’s needs, so I have to be adaptable and my to-do list usually changes throughout the day.
My days are often challenging due to the diversity of issues we deal with, but at the same time it is very interesting to be so immersed in the many departments of the business and understand the strategic decisions being made. I am very keen to continue working closely with all Excelyates to ensure that the legal department is doing its part as such a vital part of the business.
