As the new year approaches, two in-house lawyers explored how this period presents not only daunting challenges but also a wealth of opportunities.
As 2026 unfolds, in-house lawyers will step into a landscape defined by rapid change, economic uncertainty, and technological innovation – a landscape that brings both formidable challenges and exciting opportunities.
In this pivotal moment, two seasoned in-house lawyers share their strategies and insights for navigating these complexities with confidence, turning obstacles into opportunities and seizing the full potential of this transformative year.
The challenges
In a period of significant transformation for businesses, in-house lawyers face unprecedented pressure to adapt how they operate and deliver value in an increasingly dynamic environment.
Specifically, Elle Jones, fractional general counsel at CardioNexus, identified navigating economic uncertainty as a key challenge for in-house lawyers in the year ahead, as legal teams are increasingly required to do more with less.
“Economic uncertainty and cost-cutting will push legal teams to deliver strategic value while managing risk and growth with leaner resources,” Jones said.
In response, Jones urged in-house lawyers to sharpen their focus on high-impact work, leverage technology to boost efficiency, and adopt flexible resourcing models that maintain critical expertise without inflating costs.
“Prioritise high-impact matters, embrace tech for efficiency and explore flexible resourcing options to maintain expertise without increasing overhead,” Jones said.
For Ali Dibbenhall, head of legal for Asia-Pacific at LexisNexis, the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape presents a dual challenge: in-house lawyers must manage legal and regulatory risk while simultaneously enabling business innovation.
“In-house lawyers now carry a dual mandate: managing legal and regulatory risk while also helping the business innovate,” Dibbenhall said.
“With increasingly fragmented and fast-moving regulatory frameworks – across AI, privacy, cyber security, ESG and more – balancing those two roles is becoming more difficult and more important.
“Our biggest challenge is managing this accelerating complexity – aka, how to continue to help our organisations assess risk and make good decisions while enabling innovation in a rapidly changing environment.”
To navigate this balance effectively, Dibbenhall stressed the importance of looking beyond the legal lens, gaining deep insight into the organisation’s strategy, goals, and leadership motivations, ensuring advice is both pragmatic and timely.
“Understand your client/organisation – its strategy and goals, its risk appetite, its constraints, its operational needs and mechanics, what motivates different decisions and decision-makers,” Dibbenhall said.
“What is keeping the leaders and the thinkers in your organisation up at night? Deeper understanding of your organisation’s how, what and why = more effective, pragmatic and faster advice when they need it.”
The opportunities
While the new year brings its share of challenges, the evolving role of the in-house lawyer also presents significant opportunities for those ready to embrace them.
Jones explained that this period presents in-house lawyers with an exciting opportunity to be recognised as strategic partners, enabling them to influence business decisions and drive innovation more effectively.
“Greater recognition of legal as a strategic partner – lawyers can influence business decisions, drive innovation, and shape risk frameworks beyond traditional compliance,” Jones said.
To capitalise on this opportunity, Jones emphasised the importance of honing commercial acumen, cultivating strong cross-functional relationships, and leveraging technology to focus on strategic initiatives.
“Develop commercial acumen, strengthen cross-functional relationships, and adopt tech tools that free time for strategic work. Adaptability will set successful lawyers apart,” Jones said.
Dibbenhall shared how she views the “managing accelerating complexity” of issues like AI, data governance, and digital transformation as one of the most exciting opportunities for in-house teams in the year ahead.
“I think for a lot of us, this is why we became in-house lawyers. We like to use our deep understanding and connection with our organisation to help solve tricky problems in pragmatic ways,” Dibbenhall said.
“We are interested in and excited by the opportunity to learn, to help our organisations manage new and complex situations, and explore new tools and processes to achieve their goals.”
To fully harness this potential, Dibbenhall advised that in-house lawyers must focus on the technology, processes, and priorities embedded within their organisations.
She encouraged them to ask key questions: “What tools do we have in the organisation, or could we get funding for?” “What processes are we currently using that add little value?” or “What work are we doing that doesn’t make a significant impact on our organisation achieving its goals?”
