In this episode of Beyond Billable: Driving Conversations, I sit down with Hans Albers, Director of Legal Management Consulting at Deloitte in the Netherlands. With senior roles at Juniper Networks and Cisco behind him, Hans has seen the in-house counsel role from every angle — balancing risk with growth, living with the consequences of legal advice, and navigating the unrelenting pressures of regulation and workload.

Our conversation explores the crossroads where today’s legal departments find themselves: flooded with regulation, stretched by demand, and now confronted with AI tools that can transform not just efficiency, but the very way legal delivers value. Hans argues that adoption alone is not enough — true transformation requires rethinking processes, culture, and the role of the lawyer itself.

Far from being the “easier” alternative to private practice, the in-house counsel role is more demanding and complex than ever before. Yet, as Hans makes clear, it is also one of the most rewarding. The lawyers who thrive will be those who broaden their skill set into technology, process, and operations, and position themselves closer to the business.

We cover the following topics:

Introduction: Driving Conversations in a NIO
The In-House counsel role
Challenges for legal departments
From efficiency to strategy
Adoption vs. transformation
Law Firms at risk
Future skills for lawyers
Who should we interview next?

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Hans Albers on how AI is reshaping in-house and law firms alike