The General Counsel: The Hidden Architect of Integrity in Luxury

Key Takeaway

To what extent does craftmanship underpin the luxury sector? Elena Bajada of Major Lindsey & Africa argues that in the best of cases, it extends to the very strategies that build integrity, resilience, and compliance into the business itself. In this article, Elena explores the indispensability of the role of General Counsel for luxury businesses and the influence of legal leaders in the boardroom more widely.

In a sector defined by aesthetics, nothing is ever accidental. Detail, craftsmanship, and client focus sit at the heart of every product and experience the industry offers. Yet, beneath the precision and beauty that lies on the surface, is another form of craftsmanship, the careful stewardship of integrity, resilience, and trust that sustains the brand itself. The General Counsel, at once strategist, moral compass, and brand architect, plays an indispensable role in that work. 

After all, luxury is a promise. Every decision that shapes that promise, from brand partnerships to digital innovation and market expansion, carries reputational risk. In acting as the company’s key risk strategist, the General Counsel balances ambition with authenticity, ensuring that growth never comes at the expense of long-term value or the brand’s essential rarity.  

The GC as Strategic Advisor

With a panoramic view of the enterprise, the General Counsel works alongside the CEO, CFO and often the CMO to envision and deliver growth within the parameters of ethics. As a steward of balance, they navigate the delicate ecosystem of creative freedom, commercial performance, and ethical responsibility that luxury brands require to thrive. To be truly effective, they must move beyond reactive compliance and embrace a mindset of proactive risk intelligence. 

Custodians of Institutional Knowledge

The luxury industry thrives on heritage, legacy, and continuity. As such, the General Counsel becomes the company’s institutional memory and the custodian of its governance DNA. General Counsel are tasked with remembering why policies exist, how crises were managed, and which lessons were learned along the way. During times of transition, whether a new CEO, a change in ownership, or broader market upheaval, that continuity provides both stability and perspective. It ensures that evolution never erodes the principles on which the brand was built. 

The Commercial Conscience

For a brand to thrive, commercial ambition must never override ethics. Art and commerce can coexist, and the General Counsel serves as the translator between the two, ensuring that growth and innovation evolve on the right side of risk. 

Every successful General Counsel I have worked with in this sector has understood human consequence and used their moral authority to strengthen the company’s conscience. This extends across every area of influence; advising on sustainability claims, ensuring transparency throughout the supply chain, and embedding genuine diversity commitments. Their role is to protect both the business and the values that define it. 

Diagnostician and Early-Warning System 

Luxury companies are particularly exposed to reputational risk. A horizon-scanning General Counsel looks across the market and the organisation to identify weak signals before they become visible cracks. As custodians of culture, conduct, and governance, they design the ethical guardrails that prevent those lapses. They anticipate shortfalls before regulation or consequence arrive, building systems that protect both integrity, resilience and continuity. 

Guarding Culture in the Age of AI and Influence 

Innovation within luxury goods companies must happen responsibly. Creativity cannot outpace control. General Counsel roles have expanded across all sectors and in luxury this role is particularly critical. Digital transformation, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and influencer marketing are creating new ethical frontiers for the industry. 

These developments also shape internal culture. No one is better placed than the General Counsel to work alongside the CEO and CHRO in setting tone from the top, advocating for psychological safety, integrity, and accountability. Empowered employees ask questions and challenge the brand to be better; that spirit of constructive dissent drives genuine evolution. A well-structured legal function, led by a strong GC, ensures that innovation strengthens, rather than destabilises, the brand. Culture is not defined by slogans. It is defined by what people are empowered to question, and the General Counsel ensures they can. 

The GC as the Anchor of Trust 

With all this in mind, one could argue that, although invisible to the customer, the General Counsel’s work sits at the very heart of a brand’s trust. Trust is a cornerstone of luxury.  Customers buy desire, but they also buy confidence in quality, provenance, and purpose. These are precisely the areas where the GC’s influence runs deepest. 

From sourcing to storytelling, every aspect of a luxury house reflects a choice for excellence. It is the General Counsel who safeguards that excellence by upholding the ethics that define how the brand operates. 

The Quiet Power at the Table 

As the business of luxury becomes more global, more digital, and more scrutinised, the General Counsel’s influence will only continue to grow. They are the quiet power at the table, guiding strategy with insight, advising with integrity, and ensuring that progress never compromises principle. 

The next era of luxury will be defined not only by design and innovation, but by transparency, sustainability, and trust. In that evolution, the General Counsel is more than a legal leader; they are the guardian of the brand’s soul and the architect of its credibility.