How will you be attending this year's Annual Conference?

I'll be attending virtually. I was hoping to attend in person and looking forward to seeing everyone. But unfortunately it won't be possible to travel from Guernsey to The Hague without quarantining.

Luckily I have planned my diary so I can join all the sessions and of course the length and format of this year's hybrid Conference give flexibility. I will be there in spirit!

I want to commend the Programming Team and those responsible for planning the Annual Conference, who prepared for all eventualities, which means that those of us who cannot travel can still enjoy the educational and networking benefits of the Conference. I think we've all seen how much technology has developed in the past year and I'm looking forward to seeing the Conference sessions broadcast in high quality.

The hybrid format will provide flexibility to cater for all those individuals in-house and in private practice wherever they are, and we are continually learning lessons that will serve us well. In particular I think flexibility will continue to be key for all our events in the future.

Are there any particular sessions you are looking forward to?

There are a number of sessions that are really interesting for me as an in-house counsel. The panel on international litigation strategy covers a lot of issues that vex all in-house counsel at international companies. I'm also interested in the enforcement session, which is looking at the ethical dimension such as ethical destruction of counterfeits. This is a really nice development from the Corporate Breakfast Meeting. Another one is filing strategy – including Brexit and bad faith filings. And of course I'm looking forward to the virtual reception!

I think one thing we have all found during the pandemic is that professional development has been quite far down the list compared to maintaining business services and coping with change. So I'm looking forward to concentrating again on self-development and planning ahead. The Annual Conference gives that opportunity.

What do you value about the Annual Conference as an in-house counsel?

It combines things I find very difficult to find elsewhere. The MARQUES community is relatively small and you really feel part of a strong cohort of colleagues and friends.

Education is really important for all of us and the Annual Conference content is always varied and relevant to both the commercial and legal dimension of our work.

As an in-house solicitor and I need to get my CLE points and the Annual Conference includes 16.5 hours of educational sessions. Networking is also very important for us to meet with external counsel in context and put names to faces.

Another thing I want to mention is the Corporate Breakfast Briefing which has come into its own. It's very useful to speak to colleagues in other companies about the issues we face such as understanding the impact of technology.

What advice do you have for anyone else joining virtually?

We all know that when you are at the office, work will find you. So I think it's important to diarise your time and block out the Annual Conference sessions as much as possible. I'm going to treat it as though I was travelling and my time has been allocated.

Of course, if something does crop up it's reassuring to know you can re-watch the sessions on the MARQUES website when you have time.

Can you tell us about your role as 1^st Vice-Chair?

The most important thing is to support the MARQUES Chair to deliver the MARQUES plans and objectives and all internal and external engagements. It's a great opportunity to make a difference for all members and everyone else involved with MARQUES.

One thing I have been particularly focused on is a project management tool for the Teams. It came out of a long period of tenure I had as a Team member and the opportunity I saw for collaborative activity to deliver things that are topical and relevant for the members.

What can you reveal about the project?

The new tool will help teams concentrate their efforts to deliver as efficiently and collaboratively as possible. We looked at commercial software but most products seemed to be over-engineered so working with Robert Harrison at the Secretariat we have developed an in-house piece of technology over the past couple of years. This has included proof of concept and testing with some Team members.

The soft launch will be at the Leaders Meeting in September and then it will be shared with all Team members later in the month. We'll be looking to the Teams to populate the tool with projects and self-administer them going forward, and look for collaborative opportunities. It's very easy and visual and doesn't require any training – back to basics you might say.

What are the benefits of the new tool?

We recognise that all Team members are volunteers and we're all time-poor so this tool should help lighten the load a bit. It will streamline activities and maybe simplify some of the procedures we have now, such as minute taking.

It's an exciting piece of work as we continue to develop new content within MARQUES. This is version 1 so we can be flexible and continue to update it as we go. If this tool is my legacy I'll be delighted!

It is still possible to register for virtual participation in the Annual Conference: find full details, and a link to registration, here.

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