Focusing on hiring the right skills and looking to build sectoral knowledge in-house, METCE Hungary General Counsel Marton Hidvegi talks about how his organization addresses the training and development of the in-house legal team.
CEELM: What do you think are the most important skills for an in-house lawyer in your organization?
Hidvegi: I am part of a Switzerland-based multinational energy company operating across various jurisdictions in Europe, from Spain to Turkiye, and beyond. Our company is focused on multi-commodity wholesale, trading and sales, as well as energy infrastructure and industrial assets like developing and transitioning to solar and wind energy and other capacities, striving to cover the entire spectrum of the energy industry and aiming to play an essential role in the European energy transition.
Energy law is a highly specialized field, not something easily learned at a university or even within a law firm. When seeking young talent, while knowledge of energy law is beneficial, it’s not a requirement. Instead, we prioritize skills such as contract drafting, legal writing, and analysis, along with qualities like proactivity, curiosity, a business-oriented mindset, and the drive to learn and grow.
CEELM: How does your in-house legal team assess training needs, and how often?
Hidvegi: As for our training methodology, we conduct performance evaluations twice a year. During these evaluations, we review and, if necessary, adjust KPIs and assess individual training and educational needs. If colleagues have specific needs, we determine the best tools or methods, whether that involves attending courses, training, coaching, conferences, or direct knowledge transfer from others. Being a multinational company also works to our advantage – if one of our subsidiaries faces an issue, another subsidiary can provide assistance or share best practices.
We also make an effort to cover multiple disciplines since we’re not a large legal department. Each colleague has 2-3 focus areas, such as energy retail or wholesale, energy efficiency services, or corporate, data protection and compliance. This approach is crucial because if someone were to focus on just one area, they might lose motivation over time. I make it a point to ensure that doesn’t happen by maintaining variety in their work. Varietas delectat!
CEELM: Do you prefer internal or external training tools, and why?
Hidvegi: I’d say energy law is a particularly specialized area, and one can’t simply absorb that knowledge at an academic level. It’s beneficial to have an internal knowledge pool and a deep understanding of the field. To support this, we hold regular weekly internal meetings where we discuss legal issues – not just those involving clients, but also internal challenges that need addressing.
Sharing knowledge and experience in these sessions is crucial, especially since this is such a highly regulated field. We must constantly stay updated on regulatory developments. Additionally, we organize internal courses on a regular basis to join our forces in improving our professional and industry knowledge.
CEELM: How does your company’s presence in various jurisdictions help the training process?
Hidvegi: Each year, we have gatherings with other lawyers from the group that include sessions focused on discussing specific issues. This year, for instance, the focus was on project management. Additionally, there’s a group-level knowledge-sharing program not limited to legal colleagues, i.e., anyone can apply for these courses. As an example, there are sessions on negotiation techniques or communication skills, which are available to all colleagues working at different functional or business departments of the group. We also organize internal courses and try to bring in experts from entirely different fields, which tends to be very engaging and results in a higher attendance rate.
CEELM: What learning tools have been the most effective for your team, and do you use any particular tools as a knowledge bank?
Hidvegi: We mostly rely on traditional tools such as Microsoft Teams and Microsoft PowerPoint. We’ve begun using AI for document translation, but given the relative complexity of the Hungarian language, the results are still not always perfect.
In terms of knowledge banks, we use Microsoft OneDrive and maintain a shared legal knowledge bank. We aim to include not just templates but also insightful legal analyses that can be shared across the group. For example, during the energy crisis a few years ago, the topic of force majeure became highly relevant. Having a comprehensive knowledge platform enabled us to address such complex issues effectively and share insights across the company.
CEELM: What’s the typical career path for a young lawyer joining your in-house team?
Hidvegi: As mentioned, when hiring, what is crucial for us is the attitude and basic skills in commercial law such as contract drafting. In Hungary, there are five years of legal university education followed by three years of legal practice to be eligible for the bar. We typically seek young talents with 1-2 years of experience who possess basic skills in contract drafting and analysis. Once they join us, we start their education in energy law and the industry, which takes about an additional three years.
After this period, our colleague should have gained sufficient knowledge of our company’s industry to make impactful recommendations and transition into a proactive role. At this stage, they can truly make a difference as an expert. From here, there are basically two career paths: one can become a senior expert with the same responsibility as a manager, functioning as a project manager and legal business partner in close cooperation with our business divisions, or follow a traditional management path, leading their own team or sub-department. This choice depends on the person’s attitude and preference for managing people. We are working to ensure that those who do not wish to pursue a management career still have valuable opportunities within the company.
CEELM: What is one key lesson learned about managing the development of an in-house team?
Hidvegi: I believe it’s very important to communicate effectively. I personally hold one-on-one sessions with every colleague on a monthly basis to discuss various matters. As a leader and manager, my top priority is to ensure that our department is managed effectively and tailored to meet our company’s needs. I’m proud that our colleagues’ turnover is minimal, with key team members having been with us for over six years. I hope most of our colleagues find our corporate culture to be fairly open. We also conduct management training to further strengthen open communication.
