Perspectives from Raghav Handa, Associate General Counsel at Worley in Canada on the evolving in-house role – from legal reviewer to strategic business partner, balancing risk, technology, and commercial priorities.
What has been the most defining moment of your career as an in-house lawyer so far?
One of the defining moments of my career as an in-house lawyer was the realisation of moving beyond just being a legal reviewer and becoming a strategic partner to the business by helping the business structure deals, navigate risk allocation to align with the corporation’s objectives and advising during project execution as real issues arise during execution. You realise the potential to support and balance the corporation’s legal position with business objectives, project realities, and relationship management across multiple stakeholders.
In what ways do you see the role of the GC changing over the next 5–10 years?
Over the next 5–10 years, I believe the GC role will become even more strategic, operational, and technology-driven. While leadership engagement and business partnership will remain constant, the way the role is carried out will be increasingly shaped by technology and the growing complexity of enterprise risk. AI governance, in particular, will become a core part of the GC’s responsibilities. This will extend beyond the use of AI in areas such as contract review and compliance support, and will include helping to establish governance frameworks, ensuring regulatory compliance, and addressing intellectual property risks and ownership issues associated with AI tools and outputs. In addition, cybersecurity oversight and incident response management will require even greater involvement from the GC’s office. As cyber threats continue to raise legal, regulatory, operational, and reputational issues, the GC will play an increasingly important role in preparedness, response coordination, and risk mitigation.
How do you balance the pressures of your role with personal wellbeing and resilience?
This is one of the most challenging aspects of being in-house counsel. The role requires responsiveness in a fast-moving environment, which means constantly managing competing demands and making careful judgments about priorities. Not every issue carries the same level of urgency or importance, so it is critical to focus first on the matters that are truly critical and where legal input can add the greatest value.
At the same time, just as in-house counsel are expected to manage business expectations, they must also be intentional about managing their own capacity and wellbeing. I see that as equally important to fulfilling the professional responsibilities of the role. Personal wellbeing is closely tied to professional performance, particularly in a high-pressure environment where sound judgment, responsiveness, and consistency are essential.
If you could change one perception about the in-house legal profession, what would it be?
In-house legal teams should not be viewed as a cost centre, but rather as a source of cost savings and business value. For a fraction of the cost of external counsel, in-house lawyers provide practical, commercially informed legal advice that is tailored to the company’s objectives and responsive to market conditions.
Their role goes beyond identifying legal issues. In-house lawyers understand the business well enough to identify practical risks, assess them in context, and develop efficient, effective solutions to manage and mitigate those risks.
Most importantly, the role of in-house counsel is to protect the business, but that protection is not achieved simply by saying “no” to opportunities. It is achieved by providing thoughtful, solution-oriented advice that enables the business to pursue opportunities confidently, manage risk appropriately, and support profitable growth.
