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Fighting Fires

Beginning in June 2019 with a series of uncontrolled blazes, Australia’s bushfire season – since dubbed the ‘Black Summer’ – has spiralled into one of the worst on record in the country, causing widespread devastation to communities and wildlife.

By the end of January 2020, the fires had claimed more than 30 lives, burned through millions of acres of bush, forest and parks, and led to the deaths of an estimated one billion animals – with fears that some endangered species have been driven to extinction by the disaster. Over 2,000 homes have been destroyed and countless communities evacuated by the unprecedented ferocity of the bushfires. Smoke from the flames has caused disruption to major metropolitan areas such as Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, with the air quality in Australian cities sinking to among the lowest in the world at various points throughout the crisis.

The crisis has impacted all sectors, as businesses, government organisations and charities were called into action to battle the flames – either on the front lines, or behind the scenes. With the legal function playing an ever-increasing role in the management of crises of all kinds, in-house lawyers throughout Australia are diligently working to play their part in the management and mitigation of the unfolding disaster.

Feeling the heat

The scale of wreckage caused by the fast-moving Australian bushfires has been catastrophic, and has placed a lot of pressure upon organisations involved in the relief effort. But, for general counsel on the ground, their response to the tragedy has been similar to that of any crisis.

‘The bushfires are no different to any other crisis that in-house lawyers can face. I have worked in other industries throughout my career and this is no different. Crisis is something that is faced by all in-house lawyers at some point in their careers,’ says Tara Eaton, head of legal and policy at Australian Red Cross.

Australian Red Cross is a humanitarian and community services charity that has raised over AU$127m towards the bushfire disaster relief effort.

‘At the Red Cross, we do have an existing framework within the team and we build on that during times of crisis. For example, the team is set up to have a lawyer dedicated to a particular department – with that, we are able to build stronger relationships,’ says Eaton.

‘Therefore, in a crisis, different departments within our organisation immediately think of legal. They get you involved in the crisis management team from the beginning and, because of that, you are abreast of issues as they develop, you are part of the team that sits on daily, or even sometimes multiple times a day, update calls.’

The pressure to deliver timely, accurate and efficient legal advice is well-covered ground for in-house counsel, but in times of crisis, where life is at stake, this imperative only intensifies, explains Eaton.

‘One of the most challenging things in a crisis is being able to provide ad hoc legal advice. Not knowing all the information, but still having to make a call on things because the issues are moving so quickly, is difficult. One of the greatest skills for in-house counsel everywhere is the ability to trust your gut,’ she says.

‘It is absolutely necessary to provide ad hoc legal advice in response to a crisis situation.’

‘This is a necessary skill in a crisis. Having knowledge of your industry, business and the requirements to make decisions is essential to providing the best guidance you can at any particular time. So we have been doing that as a team, as the bushfires have been developing. We have been issuing daily emails to support our colleagues, saying here is today’s legal guidance, and we build on that as the team faces additional questions.’

‘During a crisis, general counsel need to show compassion and understanding for members of their organisation, while maintaining a clear head and providing objective legal advice under pressure,’ agrees Katrina Bullock, general counsel at Greenpeace Australia.

‘This requires resilience, a strong support network and self-care.’

Also feeling the pressure to provide speedy legal advice during this crisis is Sarah Donald, general counsel of Sunshine Coast Council. The Sunshine Coast is just one of many local councils across the eastern seaboard of Australia that have felt the devastating effects of the bushfires.

‘The recent bushfires presented unprecedented challenge to our community, with the immediate evacuation and displacement of thousands of people,’ says Donald.

‘It is absolutely necessary to provide ad hoc legal advice in response to a crisis situation.’

Sow the seeds

With times of crisis adding more layers of pressure to lawyers already grappling with the demands of the in-house job, steps taken pre-crisis can go a long way to ensuring the response to disaster situations is efficient and as stress-free as possible. Having systems in place aimed at mitigating risk during times of crisis is essential to providing effective legal advice.

‘Bushfires are not uncommon in Australia,’ says Donald.

‘As a result, significant systems are in place to manage these events. In Queensland, these are managed pursuant to the Queensland Disaster Management Act 2003. This Act outlines the principles of disaster management in Queensland.’

Provisions under the Act provide a legal framework for local councils during times of crisis, covering the disaster response capabilities required of local government and the training required of those involved in disaster management.

‘Local government is responsible for managing disaster events in our local areas, and this is done through our Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG). Our LDMG is coordinated by the Sunshine Coast Council, and membership is made up of liaisons from all emergency agencies (police, fire, ambulance, State Emergency Services), as well as community service providers (both government and non-government) and media representatives,’ outlines Donald.

‘The Council and in particular our disaster management team, works very hard to ensure we have excellent relationships with our emergency services partners, so we are able to have seamless operations when we are required to activate our disaster management plans and coordination centre in response to events affecting our region. These relationships were essential when we were managing the recent bushfires in our region.’

The importance of cultivating relationships extends to external counsel to whom the legal team can turn when crises demand specialised legal advice, fast.

‘You may be called on to give urgent advice on specialist areas that are not necessarily within your own expertise – then it is good to have good relationships with advisers that you can call on quickly,’ explains Astrid Heward, general counsel and general manager at the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia.

Bigger Picture

The crisis highlights the need for organisations and their in-house teams to be appropriately prepared pre-crisis, and efficient in the provision of advice mid-crisis. But, for some organisations, their work will stretch far into the future, beyond the crisis of the day.

‘We have a professional duty to ensure that our response is not just limited to the immediate effects of these fires, but rather focused on the root cause,’ explains Katrina Bullock, general counsel at Greenpeace Australia.

‘Climate change is driving catastrophic bushfires. This is a coal-fired crisis: coal is driving both the bushfire crisis, and the Australian federal government’s inaction on climate. We have ignited the shared social and economic power of Australians through our climate petition, which demands that the federal government respond to the bushfires by declaring a climate emergency and taking action to mitigate climate change. Over 81,000 people have signed to date. Across the organisation, we continue our multifaceted work to support renewable energy investments and dismantle the systems that support the climate crisis; to hold those responsible for contributing to climate change accountable – in the streets, at the ballot boxes, in financial markets and in the courts.’

She adds: ‘It is becoming increasingly important to embrace new, time-saving technologies and ways of working that empower our crew to make well-informed, timely decisions. I think we will also see increasing climate-related litigation against Australian directors who have acted negligently in ignoring climate risks, and a surge in activist investors who boycott fossil fuels. This will generate some interesting and complex legal work in the years ahead.’

‘For example, I’m no expert in industrial relations, so I have a couple of advisers I trust that I can call to bounce things off quickly.’

However, when time is of the essence, it is ultimately up to in-house legal teams to make initial assessments and provide preliminary legal advice in times of crisis.

‘Our external firms have been very supportive, but in a crisis you do not have a lot of time to go out to external counsel,’ says Eaton.

‘I have always described the role of in-house counsel as being a GP: we diagnose the head colds, the broken ankles, and then decide if we need to go out and see an ear, nose and throat surgeon. But we as in-house counsel are doing the first diagnosis of what is wrong.’

In the end, whether seeking guidance from external advisers or relying on internal resources, general counsel depend upon on the relationships they have developed.

‘To me, it boils down to relationships – we as lawyers work really closely with our colleagues to understand the issues that arise, and then work with them to find solutions,’ says Eaton.

‘It is important for in-house counsel to not become the department of “no” – of course we have to be that in this role sometimes – but particularly pointed in a crisis are the relationships you have built that enable you to have a seat at the table. Your practical guidance can be implemented very easily in a crisis; because you do not have a lot of time, you do not have the ability to come up with new policies and procedures – you just have time to give short, sharp guidance to help.’

Where there’s smoke there’s fire

Managing the legal efforts from the skies is Heward at the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), an executive agency within the Australian government responsible for compiling weather forecasts, warnings and observations and delivering them to the Australian public.

‘The Bureau’s mission is “to provide trusted, reliable and responsive weather, water, climate, and ocean services for Australia – all day, every day”, and Bureau staff have a very strong sense of public service,’ explains Heward.

‘The majority of the work that my team does to support our operational groups during the extreme weather season in fact happens when Australia is not in its “severe weather season”.’

Australia’s severe weather season traditionally occurs in spring and summer, and features weather events such as drought, severe thunderstorms, flooding, tropical cyclones and bushfires.

‘A key factor in the success of the emergency service response to the bushfire crisis is the collaboration and co-ordination between the various agencies that are involved in the response effort. The legal team supports this with MoUs [Memorandum of Understanding]/agreements that facilitate the Bureau’s meteorologists to be embedded in the emergency services as required in extreme weather events.’

‘It is important for in-house counsel to not become the department of “no”.’

Nevertheless, as with many crises, planning can only take you so far. Severe weather is, by its nature, extremely volatile. Emergency situations are inevitable. When adversities such as the devastating Australian bushfires occur, general counsel are relied upon to provide fast, accurate and essential legal advice.

‘If I am called upon to give urgent advice, I try to keep an eye on the bigger picture, and the risk levels, to understand how the advice needs to be prepared and presented. It’s obviously important to give the right answer, but “right and done” is better than “perfect”,’ outlines Heward.

‘One of the most challenging issues that arose in my role over the last couple of months related to the Meteorological Authority Office. Under the Civil Aviation Regulations, the Bureau’s CEO is able to authorise equipment to be used to provide reports for use in forecasts for the purposes of civil aviation.’

Thick plumes of smoke that wafted into cities had an adverse effect on the visibility of crucial airport services. Providing visibility reports are essential. However, equipment used to provide such reports was not always regulatory compliant to measure smoke particles.

‘Existing runway visual range (RVR) equipment at certain airports in Australia was already authorised for the purposes of providing reports in relation to fog/mist, but not for other types of lithometeor particles (such as smoke),’ says Heward.

‘Due to the serious smoke haze experienced at these airports, the Met Authority team had to work urgently to manage the complex regulatory and technical matters that allowed for the RVR equipment to also be authorised for smoke.’

Paved with good intentions

On the ground, in-house counsel are supporting organisations dealing directly with the physical fallout caused by the bushfires. Life-or-death videos from inside the inferno have been viewed by millions of people across the globe, with the destruction sparking an outpouring of donations from those eager to help – both financially, and otherwise.

‘The images of the bushfires have been broadcast worldwide,’ explains Eaton.

‘The world is a much smaller place because of the speed in which news travels and just the outpouring of support from Australia has been phenomenal, as well as the outpouring from all parts of the world: Mongolia, Estonia, and the US – every corner of the world knows about the bushfires and wants to help. This is humanity in action.’

Greenpeace Australia has also drawn attention and support to the cause.

‘We raised over $74,000 on behalf of the Rural Fire Service to support their work in battling the fires on the ground,’ says Bullock.

‘Additionally, we have provided a platform for bushfire survivors to tell their stories to the world, and our creative team has been busy documenting the destruction of homes and nature to help people truly understand the effects of climate-related emergencies.’

The response of people wanting to donate to the cause has been overwhelming, and has been helped by social media. But, while undoubtedly positive, charity in the 21st century raises unique questions that must be addressed by legal teams such as Eaton’s.

‘A lot of the issues that we have been working through relate to the proliferation of social media and people sharing our fundraising links,’ she explains.

The response of people wanting to donate to the cause has been overwhelming.

‘This is therefore raising questions: can we accept donations from overseas? What are our limitations with respect to the donations? How do I characterise those donations? Could we be considered fundraising in other jurisdictions? If so, what does that mean?’

‘Coming up with this guidance in the online space can be very difficult, because you might have one link in Australia which now can be shared globally. Nowadays, those issues are just tricky for all businesses to navigate.’

‘This is not just relevant to us in this particular situation – talking about disasters – but I am sure many other legal counsels are faced with the issue of how do we make our laws, which are jurisdictionally based, relevant to a global online environment.’

Overcoming this challenge, Eaton focused on drawing legal similarities to other similar situations.

‘How I characterise this is similar to a financial services organisation,’ she says.

‘When they are running an IPO, you are getting money from the public to do something – namely, an IPO is aligned to accepting donations from the public – and with that comes great responsibility to make sure you are telling people accurately where that money is going, how that money is being spent, and where those funds are going to be allocated.’

‘So one of the more tricky issues we have been managing is around the social media response and global organisations wanting to fundraise on our behalf – what does that mean from a regulatory perspective?’

As in-house counsel operating on the front lines, crisis management should be viewed through multiple lenses, stresses Eaton.

‘Part of our role, I think, as legal is to not only approach things through a legal lens but, in times of emergencies, to also bring a different focus. By looking at it through the eyes of our donors – our very extraordinarily generous donors – as well as the community, we have to consider: what are their expectations? What are the needs of the community we are trying to serve? How are we balancing those needs? How are we trying to do the most good we can, and support people in this challenging time? All whilst making sure we have all the checks and balances in place.’

At your own risk

Whether battling the fallout of a financial meltdown, supply chain interruption or environmental disaster – such as the Australian bushfires – crisis management is a core skill for general counsel, irrespective of the industry they represent. Counsel will be relied upon to give efficient, fast and accurate legal advice during emergencies, and play a key role in navigating the business through complex regulatory challenges and obstacles in times of disaster.

Despite having to overcome major legal obstacles, the scope of legal work can be rewarding for those on the front lines, believes Eaton.

‘It has been fascinating, actually. One of the things I love about being in-house is the diversity of work that we are faced with on a daily basis, and when there is a disaster, such as the bush fires, it has really come to the fore.’

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2020 ACC CLO Survey: Key Findings

The Legal 500 is a proud member of the Association of Corporate Counsel Alliance, and the latest survey of chief legal officers has been released. Drawn from interviews with 1,007 participants from 20 industries across 47 countries, the CLO Survey gives a unique insight into the current state of corporate legal departments.

‘As the role continues to evolve, CLOs need to think about the future on multiple levels,’ said Veta T. Richardson, ACC president and CEO.

‘Fundamental challenges such as increasing regulations, data privacy and digital transformation are not going anywhere. But today’s most effective CLOs are also focused on being strategic business partners, navigating business and legal risks, and supporting organisations to deliver greater value to their customers.’

The key findings from the report are as follows:

The CLO’s role and reach

Four in five CLOs surveyed report directly to the CEO: A five-year high, which reflects the growing importance for CLOs to have a seat at the executive table.

Compliance and risk are the top two corporate functions that report to the CLO: Over three-quarters of CLOs surveyed oversee compliance and more than one-third are in charge of risk management.

One-third anticipate outsourcing more work to law firms next year: Although departments are pressured to do more with less and insource work, the number of CLOs expecting to outsource more work to law firms remains stable.

The legal department’s value to the business

Business leaders consult with the CLO, but there is still room to advance: While 75% of CLOs report that executives almost always look to them for input on strategic decisions and risk areas, less than half regularly attend board executive sessions.

Compliance, data privacy, and security are the most important issues for businesses: These three topics continue to top the list of most relevant issues with no change from 2019.

The CLO has a multifaceted profile: lawyer and business leader: CLOs spend on average around one-third of their time providing legal advice. The rest is dedicated to managing the department, board matters and corporate governance, contributing to strategy development, and advising executives on non-legal issues.

Leadership and business aptitudes are the most desired non-legal skills for in-house counsel: 62% of respondents expect in-house counsel to demonstrate leadership capabilities. Business management and executive presence complete the top three most desired non-legal skills.

The political and regulatory landscape

New regulations and data protection issues expected to pose the biggest legal challenges: Around six in ten CLOs believe that new industry-specific regulations and data protection and privacy rules are likely to be the cause for future legal concerns, while 36% indicated that mergers and acquisitions will also create challenges.

Companies are ready to face new regulations and mitigate emerging risks: 60% of CLOs are very or moderately confident that their organisation can keep track of changing regulations and 54% believe that they are ready to tackle new risk threats.

Regulatory compliance spend is up: 58% of CLOs indicated that expenditure on regulatory compliance increased in the last year, with accommodation and food services, wholesale trade, and finance and banking reporting the highest percentages across all industries.

Geopolitical events have limited effect on organisational decisions: Around one-third of CLOs indicated that geopolitics triggered changes in the company’s plans to enter new markets, and in insurance and employee safety policies. Overall, the impact of geopolitical events was lower compared with 2017.

The outlook for the legal department

CLOs are implementing new technologies to improve efficiency: More than half of respondents either plan to adopt a new technological solution or have already done so recently. By generation, 48% of baby boomers are keen on adopting new technology solutions compared with 56% of millennial CLOs.

Use of artificial intelligence expected to accelerate: 69% of CLOs expect the use of artificial intelligence in legal technology applications to accelerate, while just 7% believe it is a temporary trend.

Delivering value to customers is now a priority over maximising profits: 50% of CLOs ranked delivering value to customers as their organisation’s top priority over the next five years. Maximising profits came second, with 35%, and investing in employees ranked third, with 10% of CLOs identifying this as their company’s top priority.

For further information, email: [email protected]

To view the full report, go to: acc.com/clo2020

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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: a Global Challenge

Over 122 countries prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace and 116 extend this protection to both women and men. In the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, employers are, more than ever, acutely aware of the global risks posed by sexual harassment. These include individual and corporate reputational damage, the risk of litigation, vicarious liability (in some legal systems) and criminal proceedings, as well as a negative impact on staff productivity, recruitment and retention.

Businesses have acted to strengthen workplace policies, introduce training and reinforce a culture of dignity and respect. Yet surveys around the world consistently suggest that sexual harassment remains under-reported in the workplace.

A recent UK poll found that two-thirds of Britons who have been harassed in the workplace failed to report their experience to anyone. This is undermining the effectiveness of workplace policies which, typically, depend on reporting to tackle issues and prevent a reoccurrence.

In this article we highlight some key issues when managing global harassment investigations, and review the latest legal developments, to support employers in their efforts to build employee trust in reporting and to reduce sexual harassment in all jurisdictions.

Managing global sexual harassment investigations – lessons learnt

Investigating sexual harassment across different jurisdictions needs careful handling, both legally and culturally.

Legal pitfalls

Some countries have procedural requirements that can wrong-foot the unwary. These may mandate the appointment of specific bodies or people to investigate complaints, such as an Internal Complaints Committee in India which must be constituted with a minimum number of female members.

Déborah Attali, employment partner in Eversheds Sutherland’s Paris office, says that employers should take care to involve the works council in French sexual harassment complaints.

‘Generally, the works council members must be informed of the complaint and involved in the investigation process. As such, the complaint is “on the record”.’

Top tips: global sexual harassment policies and procedures

  • Take advice on local legal requirements and cultural differences.
  • Have global standards (which may need to sensitively transcend local norms).
  • Provide accessible, confidential and trusted reporting frameworks.
  • Monitor workplace culture – proactively identify inconsistencies between policies and values and what happens in practice.
  • Act on hotspots.
  • Require regular training and awareness raising.
  • Keep an open mind – avoiding a rush to judgement.
  • Use confidentiality (non-disclosure agreements) appropriately/lawfully.

DIANE GILHOOLEY (pictured)

Global practice head of the human resources and pensions group

Eversheds Sutherland

Similarly, in Germany, Frank Achilles, employment partner in Eversheds Sutherland’s Munich office, warns employers conducting sexual harassment investigations ‘to beware of triggering fixed timescales within which a dismissal must take effect in order to be lawful. This means that the investigation should commence as quickly as reasonably possible, with the alleged perpetrator interviewed last. The risk being that a dismissed employee may seek reinstatement if the dismissal is not handled carefully.’

Data privacy rules also differ across countries and non-compliance, particularly across the EU, risks significant penalties. As such, employers gathering evidence as part of an investigation must consider the lawfulness of accessing CCTV images, personal messages on a work device or other personal data. A recent Swiss court decision illustrates the difficulties for employers. The court held that an employer acted unlawfully when reviewing private WhatsApp messages on a business mobile phone. It decided that unless the employer had clearly communicated the rules around the personal use of work devices, then employees had reasonable expectations of privacy, even on a business mobile phone.

Cultural challenges

Workplace culture, particularly where operations are dispersed globally, far from the head office location, must also be addressed if businesses are to change behaviour. In our experience, the appetite to raise and address issues can vary and unless the business establishes a global standard of behaviour that is universally applied in local contracts of employment and workplace rules, it can be difficult to ensure consistency of approach.

Local resistance to sexual harassment investigations can also arise where the alleged perpetrator is a key performer or leader in the business. It may want to retain the employee, despite the misconduct. While #MeToo has helped to shift the debate on these issues, bringing in an independent investigator can also help to achieve an appropriate outcome.

An enduring cultural challenge is giving local staff the confidence to speak up, wherever they are in the world and whatever the size or structure of the local team. Employers should not assume that the number of complaints is an accurate reflection of the level of harassment happening in a country. Even if a business’s head office has launched sexual harassment policies and training, employees may not feel sufficiently secure to raise a complaint if the complaint involves a local manager who has the power to dismiss or to influence their career.

Other factors may also come into play, as Jennifer Van Dale, Eversheds Sutherland employment partner in Hong Kong explains.

‘Power dynamics can make it very difficult for employees to challenge their boss, and this can be made more difficult in some countries if the topic is socially taboo, such as sex.’

Monitoring the effectiveness of policies and taking proactive steps to detect harassment will help to identify any warning signs or hotspots. For example, employers should check what is happening in practice by conducting anonymised staff surveys, asking questions at exit interviews, analysing absence data and canvassing views through mentoring programmes and staff networks.

Recent legal developments in sexual harassment

The fallout from #MeToo has also galvanised legal change. In 2019, the right of everyone to work free from violence and harassment was agreed in an international treaty (the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention) and will be progressively ratified by the 187 International Labour Organisation member states.

A number of themes have emerged globally from those countries that have implemented or proposed new harassment-related legislation. One such theme is restricting or eliminating the use of confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Whilst it is recognised that there may be legitimate reasons to use such agreements to the benefit of both parties, the concern is that they can be used inappropriately to cover up issues of harassment and silence victims, resulting in hidden systemic issues within an organisation not being tackled and eliminated, with risk to other workers.

Emerging legislative themes – a summary

  • The appropriate use of non-disclosure agreements.
  • Extending sexual harassment protection to all workers, regardless of contractual status.
  • A positive obligation on employers to take corrective action.
  • Mandatory training.
  • Mandatory reporting of complaints/settlements.
  • Regulator or governmental codes of employer good practice.

For example, in the US state of New Jersey, legislation now prevents the enforcement of certain non-disclosure provisions contained in employment contracts and settlement agreements. Other states have also passed laws banning mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment claims. In the UK, legislative proposals provide that confidentiality agreements will be legally ineffective to prevent disclosures to certain organisations, including law enforcement agencies.

Another emerging theme is to place a greater responsibility on employers to take action to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. In some US states there are new requirements for a sexual harassment prevention policy that meets minimum prescribed requirements, including revamping existing employee training or introducing new training.

Recent legislation in Denmark clarified what might constitute sexual harassment, which necessitates employers reviewing workplace norms against the new standard, and new government guidance requires employers to complete a written risk assessment on harassment in the workplace. In Romania, employers are now obliged to implement an internal policy aimed at eliminating harassment at work. Hong Kong has also recently expanded the scope of protection against sexual harassment in the workplace, with a new code of practice issued by the Equal Opportunities Commission. In the UK, developments have taken the form of proposals for a legal duty to prevent harassment and a statutory code of conduct to help employers understand and demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps.

Greater transparency, through corporate disclosures, is also on the rise. For example, in Canada, amended legislation has been proposed to ensure that employers respond effectively to incidents of alleged harassment, including mandatory recording and reporting obligations. In some US states, disclosure of settlements, and whether such settlements included a NDA, will be required.

However, legislative developments to protect against harassment have not been globally universal and, despite the significant impact of #MeToo in a number of countries, less traction has been experienced in others. For example, in some countries in Asia, criminal proceedings are the only legal recourse, which may contribute to workplace harassment going unchallenged.

Comment

With legal change ongoing in different countries and sexual harassment controversies continuing to attract public attention, employers around the world are advised to be vigilant and to regularly review their policies and training.

To maintain investor confidence, staff morale and avoid brand damage, employers will be expected to demonstrate a genuine commitment to eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace and ensuring wider issues of inequality are tackled. Achieving this will typically require a long-term focus on creating and maintaining trusted reporting frameworks, on ensuring an appropriate workplace culture and on the effectiveness of policies across all operations, whatever the location, including taking appropriate action if harassment is found to have occurred.

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Banking on legal

Henk Crouse was the first general counsel for HSBC in Africa, having taken the role upon the bank’s first entrance into the market. And now, nearly 20 years later, having been the most consistent presence in the South Africa office among multiple CEO arrivals and departures, Crouse is retiring.

Crouse entered the legal profession as most in-house counsel do: as a private practice lawyer. His first in-house job was as in-house counsel for Nedbank, a regional institution headquartered in South Africa. It was here that Crouse got the offer to serve as general counsel for HSBC, which, at the time, was preparing to open an office in South Africa.

‘I was at Nedbank for 12 years and was very happy, but I thought, “What a great opportunity to start a bank and see how that is done”. And the bank had a good reputation as well – the brand was beautiful – and I thought it would be good to work for a local bank, and then an international bank, and compare the two,’ says Crouse.

‘It was a special opportunity and I felt I’d be stupid not to grab it. With the bank’s reputation and the brand, it was an easy decision.’

Becoming integral to the business from the start

Any incoming general counsel will speak of an adjustment period as they grapple with the legacy processes and expectations left by their predecessor. To be the first adviser for a company entering a new market presents a different set of challenges, as Crouse discovered.

‘To a great extent, I carved the role out myself,’ explains Crouse.

‘A lot of it comes down to your relationship with the CEO and how you market yourself – how you’re seen, what image you want for the legal department. Do you portray yourself as an integral part of the business? Or do you see yourself as an independent legal firm giving advice? And I think in 2000 [the latter] was the approach. But I think things have changed quite drastically. Now, you’re part of the business, you run with the pack. You go out with the relationship managers to the client, you negotiate the contracts, and it’s absolutely essential to have a legal head.’

It has been this focus on relationships from the outset, Crouse says, that has shaped the growth and success of him and his team. This emphasis starts with team building and, as the inaugural member of the team in South Africa, the building started from the ground up, with the success or failure of the team largely relying on getting this preliminary step right.

‘My whole career, the relationship of the legal department with the rest of the business has been very important to me. So when I came to HSBC, I wanted to continue with that, to be the best legal department. So, certainly, I think the most important thing is to appoint the right people. I was in a privileged position to have my pick of the crop. And when I did my interviews, the most important thing to me was to get a cultural fit. Because if you have a cultural fit and you become a family and set the values, then everything is fine. But you may have very intellectually strong people that have different work ethics that wouldn’t work.

Cultural fit is hard to measure, but Crouse’s faith in his own selection process is well founded as it turns out: in the 19 years he’s been at HSBC, he’s had just four resignations. This is no accident and, according to Crouse, is the result of a carefully developed leadership approach that was borne of experience.

Cultural fit is hard to measure, but Crouse’s faith in his own selection process is well founded.

‘I drive to work every morning and I think: “Which of my staff members may be unhappy? What did they say yesterday? What did I pick up on?” I think it’s a manager’s job to make their staff happy. And it’s something very important at HSBC – we’ve got something called the “Healthiest Human” system, which is basically to say that staff are the assets of the business and we have to look after them. Therefore, we have to accommodate their needs as well. If you want to work from home, work from home. In HSBC, that’s become common in the last year, but it’s always been here in legal, because legal is so easy to see – for instance, if you are working on a contract from home, it’s either going to be done or not.’

He adds: ‘The most important thing for me in my relationship between me and my team is that it is a trust relationship – I think it’s essential. They trust me completely with what they tell me – they are extremely open and honest. And I am very honest with them as well. I think this is the secret of the success of what we are doing here.’

Setting the agenda

With his department’s relationship to the rest of the bank front and centre, each year for the legal team starts with a high-level strategy meeting, which stays relatively informal and takes place off-site. This, Crouse says, is as much about getting buy-in from the team as it is about the finer, practical points of the team’s plan for the year.

‘I first get their buy-in and ensure that we are all on the same page, that they are part of the decision-making. Then, we basically work out an annual plan. I look at our customers and clients: and, to me, that’s mostly internal parties. Each year, everyone on the team will have been allocated a relationship with somebody. For instance, I might be allocated global banking, someone else may be the IT person, and another will be trade. Then, you also get two dates a year in the annual plan where you have to go and see them, with a questionnaire, asking them what they’re happy with regarding the services our team provides.’

The focus on building the profile of the team within the business is the starting point, but it also influences the approach of the team throughout the year, as Crouse explains:

‘I have two golden rules in legal.

‘The first one is that there must always be somebody here. If you’re the last person that leaves, you are not allowed to leave. There must always be a physical presence here. If the phone is ringing – be it yours or somebody else’s – you must answer it.’

‘Secondly, you must be very well prepared for meetings. It’s the only window where you can show how smart you are in front of very important people. The challenge is not to simply be friendly and accommodating. You must challenge people in a friendly manner to make the whole committee think of different options. They may not be right, but the idea is to give options and not have only the chairperson saying one thing and then everybody following. To me, that’s the essence of marketing yourself and raising your profile.’

Keeping it together

With just four resignations in the nearly 20 years Crouse has run the legal function at HSBC, it doesn’t need to be said that retention is not an issue for his team. Though not entirely unique, such retention is uncommon on in-house teams, where progression isn’t guaranteed or definitively structured in the same way it is in private practice. He attributes this to a sense of pride that has been instilled in his team:

‘Retaining talent hasn’t been tough. We do the normal investment banking work and then we do derivatives and things like that, which are not that simple, but honestly, if you’ve passed an LLB then I think you can do the work. To me, it’s more about the leadership and how you can lead and infuse and inspire your staff and – most importantly – it’s about pride. What pride do they have in their work? And I think pride is, in essence, what drives my team.

‘We’ve got such a good reputation and you hold it so dear that you don’t want to let go of it. Yes, sometimes you work 14 or 15 hours a day because of pride, which is not good, when it would have been better to say “Sorry, I can only deliver that in two days” and get extra help. So there is a negative side as well – sometimes you push yourself too hard because of pride. Sometimes you have to just calm them and say, “Okay, this is going overboard – we must now send a message that we need more staff because we are consistently working too hard.”

‘I think if you ask me “What image do I want in the bank?”, I think I have that reputation in the bank and within my team that I am really trusted. People come to me with their problems. I really honour that.’

Changes

The life of the in-house counsel often changes significantly from year to year, so to have occupied the same post for nearly 20 means that Crouse has had an unusually consistent front-row seat to changes in the company, the industry and the wider profession.

For instance, having worked at HSBC for nearly two decades, Crouse has seen chief executives come and go and, as such, has been a part of multiple sea changes within the business, and has had to learn to communicate his team’s ethos and success to a variety of personalities.

‘There is a negative side as well – sometimes, you push yourself too hard because of pride.’

‘At HSBC, I’ve worked with four or five CEOs. Everybody had different styles. That is very important. My view, in interviews, as part of my questions – and something I honestly believe – is that EQ is more important than IQ. I think it is. If I negotiate, I must be able to read what that other person’s soft spots are, and how I should embrace them and make them see my point of view. So, basically, I have to take my glasses off and see him through his own glasses. That’s the same thing with the CEO. It’s very important that you can relate to them and they can relate to you. That you can form a trust relationship going forward. It’s essential for the CEO to trust you. The CEO trusts you, and you’re the right-hand man – you’re their legal adviser.’

Internally, Crouse also says that the role that external firms are playing in the market has changed over the years:

‘I think external panels are more expert and not so much general. I think your legal advisers in South Africa have become more generalist and not so much specialist, and you get your specialist advice from external legal firms.’

It should also be no surprise that technology has been a key driver of change over the course of Crouse’s career, and his team’s approach to external firms is no exception to this. Crouse uses an app to manage his relationship with his external firms, which tells him the general rate of each attorney and asks the user to give feedback on the attorney based on performance, whether he’ll use them again, whether their fee has changed since the last time they used them. All of this reduces overhead for Crouse and his team – a positive – but he still maintains a cautious approach when it comes to legal solutions promising cost-saving innovation.

‘HSBC is very particular about who we are dealing with. We only basically deal with very reputable legal firms where there is no reputational risk for us and no risk of bribery. It’s very easy for a legal firm to be involved in bribery in getting licences or preferable judgments. So we do a month’s due diligence on a legal firm before we have them on board. It’s unlikely that we will deal with a start-up company that we don’t know and that don’t have a reputation. It’s too difficult to get through all the layers. From a reputational point of view, we’re very hesitant to deal with start-ups.’

The marketing of legal

It is one thing to have a legal department that the general counsel knows is successful, but truly measuring that success and communicating it with the rest of the business is an important of the job for Crouse, and is integral in building the bridges with the rest of the business of which Crouse and his team are so proud.

‘I can honestly say that we are the poster-boy department – we are held in high regard.

‘Firstly, we are being recognised for prizes internationally, so that gets advertised within the bank and people respect you for that. Secondly, I do surveys twice a year. I will ask people questionnaires before the performance appraisal, and ask them what they think about the team, so I get feedback that I can monitor.

‘We also have a thing called “At Your Best” at HSBC, where everybody gets allocated a certain amount of points, and every point has got a monetary value. Let’s say everyone gets 100 points, and you can allocate that to staff that you think deserve it. And HSBC very often acknowledge the legal department.

The emphasis on ‘being seen’ that Crouse talked about before also plays a part here. He refers to it as the team’s ‘marketing strategy’ – asking questions of the business, both inside meetings and out; ensuring his staff are very well prepared for meetings internally; and ‘walking the floor’ among internal clients to have light conversation and give internal stakeholders the chance to ask questions and give feedback.

Retirement

Now that Crouse is approaching the end of his chapter at HSBC, this top-level strategy-setting has taken on a different character, and his attention turns to the future.

‘My approach has definitely changed. I have done some internal training for my successors, so I’m very confident and comfortable with that. I’ve already had an informal discussion around when I’ll start stepping back, what meetings I’ll no longer attend or what ones I’ll attend with my successor. There’s certainly a plan.’

Retirement means different things to different people but, for Crouse, it does not mean a total erasure of his working life. Crouse’s creative side has manifested itself already, with Crouse publishing a book alongside his time at HSBC in 2005. Titled Man Op Die Dak, the novel was shortlisted for the Eugene Marais Prize in 2006.

‘I would like to get involved in schools and start training and inspiring kids.’

‘I’ve published one book, I’m going to write another book and have been approached by a publishing house. They’re disappointed I haven’t retired already. I look forward to that – to touching the creative side. I like the arts.’

‘I want to give back to society – I would like to get involved in schools and start training and inspiring kids. I think it’s important to inspire youngsters who you can still set into the right direction. To inspire professionals – they’re already on the right track. If I were to give back, I’d rather work with kids that you can still form and change their lives. I think it’s possible to do that.’

‘I would rather train youngsters for the corporate world. I know that’s more my strong point – to enthuse people.’

Advice to younger self, leadership

Now that Crouse is looking back on a lengthy and prolific career, what does he wish he’d known from the start, and what advice would he give to others at the start of their legal and business careers?

‘Something that I wish I’d learned at a really early stage – and that is that the corporate world is not a popularity contest. Why I’m saying that is that the younger you are, the more insecure you are, and the older you are, the more comfortable you are in your skin.’

‘But when you are in your early 30s, it’s the decade that you have to work the hardest in your career, because those are the make-or-break years. When you’re 40, you realise what you will and will not achieve, and you will make peace with it. In the 30s, you don’t know where you’re going to end, you just know the harder you work, the better the chances are.

‘If you’re insecure, you want people to like you because you think that’s essential. But how senior management see it, is that if you’re popular and if there’s a meeting and X says “Let’s do Y” and you say “Yes, I think that’s the right thing to do” and you don’t challenge that, they see you as weak. So if you want popularity and it becomes evident in meetings that you say what is expected, then senior management frown upon it. You should rather be more challenging, and try to set the meeting in a different direction. They’ll have much more respect for you and you’ll be promoted much quicker than if you just become popular. I wish I’d learned that at a younger age.’

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Zelma Acosta-Rubio

I would like to say that my move from private practice to an in-house role was a carefully thought out decision; but, as with most things in life, it was simply an opportunity that presented itself at the right time and where all the conditions were there for me to step in and thrive. The decision was not so much to go in-house – it was more about the challenge to build a modern, innovative legal team profile in a Peruvian bank that was already at the forefront of redefining banking services in Peru.

When it was privatised in 1994, Interbank’s revised value proposition focused on convenience, speed, and service. It was the first bank to establish financial stores operating seven days a week (9am–9pm) at supermarkets. It built a large distribution network, owned the largest out-of-branch ATM network, and redesigned its financial stores with a human-centric approach. By 2010, data mining and scoring had evolved, and the bank moved from product offerings to customised financial services solutions based on deep knowledge of clients’ needs. The challenge for the legal team was to modernise the way legal services were delivered. Speed was key.

When I joined Interbank in 2007, we renewed about 40% of the legal team and set ourselves a vision: ‘to unlock value for corporate strategy’. In terms of speed, that meant working closely with cross-functional teams from the outset in order to design timely solutions with strategic value. Thus, all our lawyers were required to develop business, strategic, and financial acumen to ensure the legal function’s strategic alignment with the rest of the organisation; and to understand Interbank’s strategic intent and be able to articulate our internal clients’ business plans and KPIs. We launched (and continue to run) meet-ups and workshops to instil these new skills and develop a strategic mindset across the entire team. For me it is imperative that, as an in-house team, you have a deep understanding of your company’s strategic intent, and make strategic decisions when dealing with legal risks. You are not just acting in an advisory capacity; you need to own your recommendations and decisions and understand the value proposition as if you were responsible for the P&L.

When I started my first job in New York, I was hired as a foreign associate and had a front row seat learning about power dynamics in private practice. I worked in the financial services practice – an area that was 100% dominated by men, and where women struggled with late nights and family commitments. By the time I got to London a year later, I had made the decision to focus on work, and maybe – just maybe – have a family later. While London was a bit more cosmopolitan, and a bit more inclusive, the hours were still very long and it was still highly competitive. I made a conscious choice to get ahead by playing on my strengths: my knowledge of civil and common law, my pitching skills, and Latin America’s privatisation wave. I was 28 years old and originating deals in Latam, which was unusual for a young associate.

When I moved in-house to Interbank, it was a very different experience, not only because it was a move to an in-house role, but because it was in Peru. However, there was one factor that remained the same, and that was the nicely packed set of stereotypes and unconscious bias in the workplace that help to perpetuate and hold together the dynamics of power. What I observed was a strong underlying assumption of ‘women take care’ vs ‘men take charge’ as a shared belief by men and women alike. This was not only in Interbank, but across the corporate sector in general. And it applies equally to private practice. This, I believe, is the biggest barrier to true gender equality.

“As our research progressed, we realised that it was strategically important for us to accelerate diversity and inclusion.”

In private practice, I think the focus on hourly billing is particularly troublesome; the lack of flexible working arrangements and the penalties women endure for taking maternity leave set them back on their path to attaining partnership. Working in-house is not necessarily better. Stereotypes and unconscious bias are still present; however, what we do see is more and more corporates taking decisive action towards diversity and inclusion, which of course benefits the entire organisation. At Interbank, for example, we share with our panel law firms our diversity and inclusion initiatives, and will be asking them for their data, policies, and accountability for diversity and inclusion in the teams we work with. We also push our firms to give us more women as contacts, especially because firm relationship management has typically been a space reserved for male senior partners.

Alongside my role as GC, I also hold the position of board secretary. I realised I wanted to learn more about diversity in the boardroom. And so I asked for Interbank’s data. In 2012, overall female representation at Interbank was 58%, with 44% C-suite female executives. On the surface this looked to be a good balance. But when we delved more deeply into the data, we learned that female representation reduced to 38% (supervisor), 34% (deputy manager), and 11% (manager). This showed us that we had a significant pipeline issue. It was at this point that I ‘dug my heels in’ and decided to figure out the why, the how, and the what of diversity and inclusion for Grupo Intercorp. We started by asking the following question to large groups of women in several of our Group companies: what are the main reasons that prevent women’s development and keeps them from attaining higher positions? Is it a matter of skill sets, lifestyle, or confidence?

We then asked the following, more in-depth questions:

Skill sets

  • Do women have different skill sets than men?
  • If so, are these differences a key element that will advance a man’s career to the detriment of a woman’s?

Lifestyle

  • For you, what is a normal day?
  • Does being married or single make a difference? Why?
  • Is being a mum an obstacle to career advancement? Why?

Confidence

  • Are men more confident?
  • Is lack of confidence a barrier for women’s career advancement?

As our research progressed, we realised that it was strategically important for us to accelerate diversity and inclusion, and to build on the collective learnings across Grupo Intercorp. In December 2018, the role of chief diversity and inclusion officer was created, as was a Diversity Board, and we have made significant progress since then.

All Group company boards now have approved D&I policies and guidelines and accompanying action plans. We determined to set internal targets by the end of 2019. The policies recognise diversity as a value and inclusion as a leadership trait. The guidelines for 2019 were, first, to prioritise three tracks: (i) attraction, selection, retention, and advancement of women in the organisation, (ii) work-life balance, and (iii) zero tolerance of sexual harassment; and, second, to educate on and build awareness of stereotypes and unconscious bias. All our Group companies prioritise the same three tracks, though some may decide to take on additional ones depending on their own demographics. We also continue to participate in Ranking Par, Latin America’s first-ever gender equality ranking.

We hire for competence and hold interviews with structured and diverse panels. I am also a full supporter of female-led law firms. In the past two years, I have retained (+3) and recommended female lawyers who have set up their own individual legal boutiques. These are women who left the larger firms because they wanted to own their time and deliver results.

Internally, I make sure women get stretch assignments and I expose them to senior leaders across the organisation. I lead by example by engaging in the conversation, making a point of bringing people’s views forward, and being explicit about being equal in our differences.

My commitment to promoting gender equality in the legal industry extends beyond my roles at Grupo Intercorp and Interbank. In 2016, together with ten other lawyers, I formed Women in the Legal Profession (WIP) Peru, an initiative borne from the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice for the empowerment of women in the legal profession. At WIP-Peru, we focus on five tracks:

“The advice I would give to any woman wanting to get ahead in the legal industry is this: play to your strengths. Understand complexity. Always negotiate your salary. ”
  • Design and divulge guidelines for the selection, promotion, and retention of female lawyers;
  • Develop leadership skills for female lawyers (workshops);
  • Actively commit to have female lawyer representation at public events;
  • Run mentoring programmes;
  • Measure best practices and progress.

As part of WIP-Peru, and as GC of Interbank, I promote direct conversations with law firms around diversity and inclusion matters. I encourage them to adopt guidelines for the selection, promotion, and retention of female lawyers and design D&I action plans. Of course, the question of quotas versus targets often comes up. For me, it’s about looking at the demographics, setting realistic targets for diversity, and managing expectations. Personally, I believe 40% is a nice target to start with. In some cases, though – and depending on the toxicity of the culture or the need for change – a hard quota should be placed to accelerate the inclusion of women. I want to stress, though, that in all cases you must make sure you have the best talent ‘auditioning’ for the part, whether or not there are quotas or targets in place.

Finally, the advice I would give to any woman wanting to get ahead in the legal industry is this: Play to your strengths. Understand complexity. Always negotiate your salary.

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Patricia Barbelli

My decision to pursue a career in law was driven mostly by the male role model I had when I was teenager: my father. He has always shown strong passion, commitment, and energy. He was also very dedicated to his legal career, having been an executive of a large bank and a Judge for some time. I was inspired by him to also follow a career in the legal industry.

I completed my undergraduate degree in law, my postgraduate degree in contract and tax law, and then completed an MBA. Unlike a lot of lawyers, who often begin their careers in private practice, I have always worked in in-house counsel roles. I began my career as a lawyer for PepsiCo before moving to Bayer, where I was promoted to the role of senior legal manager. After six years with the company, where I was also a member of the executive team (as corporate secretary to the CEO), I became a GC for the first time at Pirelli. I then moved to Whirlpool as their legal director of Latin America. I was at Whirlpool for almost four years when I was contacted by a head hunter to speak about an interesting opportunity at Diageo.

There are many reasons why I decided to move to Diageo. The main reasons, though, were its reputation (in having strong governance, values, and compliance); its solid and remarkable brands; its leadership in the spirits industry; and, finally, its bold diversity and inclusion agenda.

For me, the role of the legal department is so much more than simply a business partner – we are a business peer. The legal department must, fundamentally, help the business to do business. At the end of the day, in-house legal teams must consider themselves as a department that helps to sell and helps to deliver the company’s goals and strategies. We are not a support function for the business. Legal is a role that thinks not only for the consumers, but also for both the stakeholders and shareholders. It is important to challenge the often-held belief that the role of the legal department is to say no! We are there to ensure legal compliance, and to find solutions, always bearing in mind the consumer, stakeholder, and shareholder interests, and to help the business to grow.

This belief is very much reflected in how my team is structured and how our work is done. My team and I typically have very intense work days, which usually involve business meetings, discussions, projects, and deliverables that link to the company’s strategy. And, of course, we are responsible for all legal matters across the business. This involves various kinds of litigation, including tax, which is a complex area of law in Brazil. Our litigation work is not limited to liability but also includes asset litigation, contract litigation, environmental law, data privacy issues, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust, brand protection, and corporate security.

I believe it is very important to emphasise the different roles men and women may (and often do) play at home and work. It is even more important to establish limits when necessary in order to support the work-life balance, for both genders. This is where we must count on mentors or leaders within companies and organisations to support diversity and inclusion initiatives. Alongside this support though, it is just as important to lead by example.

Since the beginning of my career, I’ve personally faced many challenges as a woman. But I overcame these by being professional, resilient, and by showing my commitment and capabilities. I can recall many business meetings in my career where ‘manterrupting’ and ‘mansplaining’ were commonplace. I overcame this by being respectful, while also creating a space to put across my point of view. More importantly, I stood up for myself, and was not afraid to show my points of view and capabilities.

“The role of the legal department is so much more than simply a business partner – we are a business peer.”

Some years ago, I joined the executive team of a multinational company (a more traditional business) and I was the only woman to occupy an executive position. The other executives were much more senior than me and had been working for many years for this company. In the beginning, it was very difficult for me to gain their trust, their attention, and to be included in the most important discussions, to really ‘sit at the table’. I faced challenges to build the relationships and get closer to them, but I am glad to say that they have turned into very nice colleagues… and one of them is currently my mentor!

In my opinion, the largest barrier facing women in the legal industry – and particularly in the in-house profession – is not getting women in, but the promotion of women to the top levels . This is because many companies are only starting to discuss diversity as an important issue. Unfortunately, from a practical point of view, this means that women tend only to occupy some levels in the hierarchy of organisations, and often only up to managerial level. While this is true to some extent in the corporate arena, it is especially prevalent in law firms. Senior leadership positions in companies and most partner positions in law firms are still occupied by men. Often this is because a lot of women give up their careers when they have children. This is not due to their skills, capabilities, or desire to return to work. This is, more often than not, due to the lack of flexibility from companies and law firms in helping women to continue to grow their career while also being a mother.

I certainly faced challenges when I had my daughter. Although I was lucky in that I found several supportive executives (both male and female), I was surprised at the low level of support I received from some female executives (some of whom were already mothers). It can be very tough without the right support. Taking lessons from my own experiences as a working mother I am, as much as possible, very supportive of my colleagues, my team, and other women who are pregnant or returning to work from maternity leave. I strongly believe that, as women, we must support each other because we all face similar challenges in life (in work and at home), and have the same aspirations and ambitions as men do.

With that in mind, and alongside my role leading the legal team, I also sponsor Diageo’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. This was created in order to address matters concerning women’s participation in the workplace, people with disabilities, race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and support them with initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion. I am also a board member of WILL (Women in Leadership Latin America), an international organisation with chapters in São Paulo and New York and an advisory board in London. The aim of the organisation is to share best practice, aimed at closing the gender pay gap, promoting women in leadership roles, and helping organisations to establish career development programmes for women.

As a company, Diageo is very open and transparent in having conversations regarding female advancement in the legal profession. Gender equality remains a major issue in most organisations and there is still a gender gap in the vast majority of companies in Brazil. Despite the relatively slow progress in Brazil, Diageo has an impressive track record in advancing women (without having laws in place) and being a benchmark for companies in Latin America. For example, females in senior leadership positions has increased from 22% to 50% in the last two years.

If I could give one piece of advice to myself at the start of my own career, it would be to have a mentor and to make connections with a diverse range of women. It would also be to share my own experiences more, learn with other women, and count on their support. Mentorship is very important for young aspiring female leaders. Having a mentor may help the young woman to share their own experiences while learning from others’ experiences and counting on their own mentor’s support during their career.

I am fortunate in that I have had the pleasure of working with many admirable women in my teams throughout my career. Some women who joined my team in junior roles have progressed to being mothers in senior roles. I also have mentorship sessions with women who are new, or may not be on my team, to help them with their respective careers. I always try my best to teach, discuss, and give feedback to my mentees. I try to motivate them to keep focussing on both their career paths and own life aspirations, despite any challenges that they may encounter.

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Mariana Olivares

I decided to become a lawyer when I was in high school. I am the very first lawyer in my family, so I cannot say it came from a sense of family tradition. However, my parents instilled in me from a young age the importance of justice and values, to do the right thing, and to always be ethical, no matter the consequences. From my very first class at law school, I was incredibly passionate about it; I knew I was in the right place.

Like many lawyers, I started my career in private practice, and had not really planned to move from private practice to an in-house role. But when the opportunity with Sodexo came about, it was too good to turn down. I remember that when I first started, I felt very strange! I was used to managing many different corporate legal accounts, and not ‘only one’. But I soon realised that, in fact, an in-house legal department also has many different clients – all the company’s other departments!

I believe that as an in-house lawyer it is very important to be involved with the strategy, the company’s business: you cannot be unaware of the core business units and interlinked functions. The legal department’s decisions affect the entire company: our shareholders, providers, employees, and community. Our mission is to provide high quality services – with high ethical standards – in order to contribute to the accomplishment of the corporate mission and the company’s objectives as well.

If we compare women’s progress in the legal industry, we can see that the situation is the same in different countries. In the majority of cases, the positions of equity partner and managing partner are held by men. Is this a coincidence? Absolutely not.

Put simply, the ‘rules’ have been made by men: that is the reason why most of the top positions are occupied by them. I strongly believe that had those rules been established by women (or, at the very least, in consultation with women), the reality would be different.

For me, it is very important that men and women work together in order to achieve gender equality in organisations. But how can this be done? First, review your hiring and promotion process; second, train your lawyers regarding unconscious bias and stereotypes in the legal profession; third, empower your women lawyers; and, finally, always review whether the conditions for men and women are both equitable and equal. This last one is very important because, while the aim of equality is to promote fairness, it really only works when everyone is starting from the same place (equity).

In the case of in-house lawyers, you do see more women in leading positions (e.g. legal director, general counsel) than you do in private practice, however there is still much to be done before there is true gender equality and representation. The individual challenges might be different, but, in essence, we are all supporting the same cause. We are all working to obtain equitable conditions for women in the workplace. We have to ensure that not all the leadership positions are for men. And we must always remember that, just because we do not see women in those positions that there are not talented women lawyers. It means the system is broken, and needs to be fixed. We have to empower women and make visible our capabilities. We must take action.

In my career, I have faced the challenges that most women have – not only because I am a woman, but also because I am a mother of two wonderful children. I got through those challenges with work, work, and more work.

“I feel a responsibility as a woman to help other women reach their full potential and progress in their careers.”

I am also lucky because my husband and my family have always supported my decisions and my career. In addition, my company and my colleagues really do believe that businesses with gender-balanced teams do better, not only for company results, but because it is the right thing to do.

Working in a global company such as Sodexo has given me several opportunities to grow and develop my career in many areas, not just in legal. For example, a few years ago I joined Sodexo’s leadership programme for women, based on development opportunities for women in senior management positions. Then I passed to the second stage of the programme: mentoring sessions.

I am also now responsible for the D&I strategy in my country. Along with other members of our D&I local committee, I work every day to reach gender balance in our company. In August 2019, we launched Sodexo’s ‘So Together Peru’, an internal network that seeks to promote the development and empowerment of women in open spaces, in which women and men participate equally to build a true culture of gender equality.

Sodexo also encourages us to volunteer with a worldwide programme (Stop Hunger) to fight hunger and malnutrition. I am the leader of this programme in Peru, and we work for a hunger-free world in three fields of intervention: support to local communities in need, women empowerment, and emergency assistance. We are convinced that providing women with better education, training, means of production, and financial resources will maximise the possibility of eradicating hunger from the world by 2030. Our commitment with Peru’s gender balance is also as a corporate citizen and this year, I was proud to receive recognition of our work from CONFIEP (The National Confederation of Private Business Institutions). This recognition motivates me to continue working on gender equity.

Beside my role at Sodexo, I am member of WIP Peru (Women in the Profession), an initiative from the Cyrus Vance Center for International Justice. I am part of the leadership committee, and this year I am a mentor in the mentoring programme. This initiative is only for women lawyers. I feel a responsibility as a woman to help other women reach their full potential and progress in their careers , but I also encourage other women in leadership positions to be role models for others.

Sodexo is strongly committed to advancing gender equality. As a world leader in quality of life services, the company fosters an open, inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. The global gender balance strategy is a key driver in ensuring that both men and women have equal access to growth and opportunities in our workplace.

Sodexo’s research shows that gender-balanced teams perform better, and so we are working globally to have women represent at least 40% of our total leadership by 2025. This goal will not be met overnight, so the company has established a specific gender strategy to help to achieve this.

Not only do we have cross-border initiatives, but we also develop many local initiatives. Last year we published an inclusive language manual that we now use in all our communications. We trained our senior management regarding unconscious bias and stereotypes and promote campaigns about gender balance. We also participate in panels, forums, and committees with other companies, and last year Sodexo Peru was considered first in the Aequales Ranking as the company with best practices promoting gender equality (category more than 1,000 employees).

Of course, multinational companies such as Sodexo that have strong D&I initiatives positively influence other companies and they set a good example. However, local leadership is very important to implement D&I initiatives and adapt them to a country’s culture. In our case, the issue of gender equity is balanced against things such as violence against women, which in our country reaches high percentages. So, while the global initiative is fundamental, local leadership is necessary to develop a D&I strategy that is aligned with the country reality.

With every day that passes, I am more convinced that we need quotas to achieve gender equality. Working to a ‘best efforts’ rule is not enough: we need quotas in order to achieve our goals. Once we have equity in leading positions, we can change our mindset, trust in a meritocratic system, and talk about equality between men and women without the need for quotas. In the legal function at Sodexo, we have a diverse team, but we are now working on developing capacities, nurturing talent, and empowering women so we can grow under the same opportunities.

It is important to always follow words with actions. While there are specific challenges faced by women in the legal industry, unfortunately gender imbalance is a global issue and one that needs to change. If I could give any advice to those women who are just starting out on their career path, it would be this: What you see as your weaknesses are your greatest strengths. It is what it makes you unique. Your youth is an opportunity to see the world with a fresh new eye. Never give up, fight for your ideas, and for what you really care about. Be ethical. This is the best gift you can give.

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Mónica Jiménez González

When I immigrated to Canada 18 years ago, my South American university degree was of no value to the Canadian market – the firms in Canada wanted Canadian experience. Thankfully, I managed to get into a small boutique firm and from there a bigger firm. When I entered Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, everyone had graduated from the University of Vancouver – and most of them were men. There weren’t many women lawyers in general, but even more scarce were female lawyers from the international jurisdiction. At that time, I was quite ‘exotic.’ Not only was I an immigrant, I was a woman, and not being the same as everyone was a challenge. I started at Fasken as an associate who spoke two languages and who also had two master’s degrees. Despite my high level of education, the first thing I encountered was people telling me ‘oh good, you speak two languages – so you’re the translator’. And I accepted this, thinking that it wasn’t too bad as an immigrant, as a woman, and as someone who didn’t have the same social exposure as my colleagues. I had to prove myself twice as much.

I gravitated towards corporate law because I liked trying to figure out how to make a difference with respect to how society is impacted by corporations. I’ve also had a keen interest in international human rights law since I graduated, and in my current role at Ecopetrol, I’m lucky that both of those aspects of law combine. I’m leading initiatives related not only to corporate governance but also to corporate communications and corporate responsibility. The latter looks at the standards to which the company complies and this includes going the extra mile – it’s more than revenue, it’s about being a good corporate citizen. In that area, we also look at a lot of human rights matters.

The role I have relates to both consumers and stakeholders of the company. This is where the idea of corporate responsibility comes in; we need to look at the standards that must be applied. Ecopetrol, with its 22 affiliate companies, is trying very hard to modernise, especially in relation to the politics of gender diversity and inclusion. Our goal is to find a common denominator within all our companies with respect to diversity and empowering different groups, including women. We’re partly a state-owned enterprise and this is a great thing because the government that’s in office right now is very strongly orientated to gender diversity. You can see this in the government’s cabinet, its politics, its vice president, and its first lady. So, not only do we, as a company, follow and implement what our government is doing, it also allows us a head start with diversity-based initiatives that we decide to implement at a corporate level.

We have two different levels in our company: operational and corporate. The operational level includes women who are working in the oil fields, the corporate level includes the actual recruitment process, but both levels empower women. I travelled to an oil field where I came to witness two very interesting examples of how we were hiring women. The first was an initiative where we are building a solar plant: there are many communities that are looking for jobs because right now there’s a blockage and our economy is suffering. So, Ecopetrol directly responded by hiring a group of women, some of whom had never had a job before, to work on this solar plant. We found that when we looked at the population of women working there, many of them were heads of their families – the breadwinners – despite never having had a job before. What we’re trying to do is find ways to provide jobs for those women while acknowledging that this is not common in a country where men are usually the breadwinners. We’re trying to find ways to educate these women and provide them with technical skills so that they can work on additional projects.

“Rather than do things intuitively and assume that we are doing a really good job, we look at the statistics.”

I discovered the second example when I began to talk to with some of the other managers in that region: the area where they were hiring women the most was in security personnel. My first thought was that if you were going to hire women in the middle of the night for security, they might not be as strong as their male counterparts if, for example, someone was to steal something. Actually, it’s been going very well. These women feel empowered, and are extremely vigilant. Despite historically being in a very male-domiated industry, we’ve found our women excel at these traditionally masculine roles. It’s a matter of being open-minded about business operations.

At a corporate level, there are six diversity initiatives that are being built and implemented right now, and for all of them we use both a top-down and bottom-up approach. The current board of directors is very keen and sensitive towards these initiatives and it understands that you get much more value with a diverse workforce. This can be seen in our recruitment process. Potential future employees are told why diversity and inclusion is important, why there is value in looking at everyone’s CVs, and the importance of not having unconscious bias towards women. One of our aims is to educate and eradicate this bias. For all our recruitment processes we require that for every three candidates, one of them must be a woman. Obviously, you cannot hire a woman just because of her gender – you have to make sure that she has the skills, merit, and will. However, it is about giving women that initial opportunity.

There’s a specific initiative at Ecopetrol that addresses how to prevent gender-based violence. This becomes really important when you get women in at an operational level and you have that traditional male role destroyed. One of the first practical steps we took was to build another bathroom and lockers for the women. Most of the operations only had male bathrooms and no places to change your clothes because women had never worked there. But now you’ll find not only bathrooms but lockers and changing rooms for both men and women. This is a huge thing, because no matter how many laws you put in place, if you don’t have the right operational set up for women, it’s never going to be realistically implemented.

Ecopetrol is taking action to address the gender pay gap. Rather than do things intuitively and assume that we are doing a really good job, we look at the statistics. We have looked at women at different regional, operational, and corporate levels in relation to their job description. We looked at how we valued each job description and then came to a conclusion on how much each particular job should be paid in comparison with another. We then matched the salary directly to the job description, without regard to gender.

We also have general regulation that includes ideas stemming from #MeToo. We have a Code of Ethics that everyone abides by, from the board of directors down to every single worker. Where there is inappropriate behaviour, including sexual harassment, Ecopetrol has many ways of addressing that. You can file an anonymous complaint which will be investigated until we find a resolution. We have special areas where you can speak about such matters without having to file a complaint, if you’re uncomfortable with that. We tell everyone that nothing is too small to merit a conversation. We have an ethics line, for women and men, where you can talk in confidence.

There has been a lot of action taken by the government itself. A lot of women in leadership positions have been given the same power as men and have made a very strong stance. However, I think that the most valuable way to change these traditional gender roles is to empower women: women must change their mind set with respect to who they think are, what they can actually do, and what they can truly ask for. I was at a public speaking engagement about international arbitration, and there were a lot of women in attendance. Having worked in this for the last 18 years, I have come to know that one of the myths surrounding it is that to get into international arbitration, you must be part of a very small club-like network. One of the women asked me how I managed to get into the ‘club of international arbitration’ as a woman? I turned the question on her and asked how many of the women had written an article on international arbitration or anything related to it in the last three years. Not one woman raised her hand. I then asked how many women had actually tried to apply or gotten into the international arbitration chamber of commerce; again, no hands were raised.

What I told them was that we know that being a woman is sometimes difficult and we need to work our way through with more effort than men. But, if we are not strong enough, do not take chances, and don’t do things for ourselves then we cannot expect things to change. That’s step one. Step two is sponsorship. There are excellent mentors out there, and you need other women to champion you so that you can be brave and take these chances. You need to apply to that job, write that article, speak publicly – and not be apprehensive about it. If you don’t do this, it is going to be difficult to move ahead.

“For me, the first key to success is finding the right partner who will support you.”

I have a great female mentor in Canada who told me it was never going to be easy and that there was always going be an imbalance, but as a woman you need to make that a safe and healthy imbalance. Sometimes you might have to travel and miss time with your family, but you can make that up next week. That teaches you to get rid of guilt. That’s another problem that women face – we feel guilty about everything we do! Once a month, I have informal dinners with executives and professional women in the Colombian industry. We have so many different conversations: you’ll find out if someone is looking for another job, or if someone is asking about the strategy on topic X. It’s a very informal network where anything can happen. You don’t realise that women are going through exactly the same issues as you if you don’t talk to each other, and that’s very common. Many of us have the same issues; we just forget to talk to each other. It’s also very refreshing when you find men who understand these issues and why they matter. I had a male mentor in Canada, when things were a lot more difficult for me because I was younger. I’ve never met anyone who was so generous and who took the time to be brutally honest with me. They’re out there; you just have to ask!

I am a lawyer and I am also an ambitious woman. But before having children, I was afraid of having them. This wasn’t because I was unclear of what I wanted, but because of the bias I knew I would face from people. For me, the first key to success is finding the right partner who will support you. If you don’t have a partner who supports you, it doesn’t matter how many mentors you have, or how many other women want to help you. It all starts at home. If it wasn’t for my husband, I would not have been able to work in such a demanding and fast- paced law firm or take on a leadership role at Ecopetrol.

When it comes to women with families or women about to have children, in Colombia we have 18 legal weeks of maternity leave. This is incredibly insufficient. And the expense of giving birth in Latin America is very high when compared to other nations. Companies need to find ways to provide better benefits to women when they’re on maternity or raising a child without making it too expensive. At Ecopetrol, we have looked very closely at our maternity policy. While it is currently extended to a little longer than 18 weeks, we are looking to see how this can be extended further, because it will benefit women greatly. In Colombian cities, breastfeeding has almost disappeared because it is very tough to breastfeed when you’re working. We have maternity spaces in our buildings and regions for our female employees to breastfeed, but there’s still such a long way to go. What is important is that we lead as a company and we are modernising: we want to do this. I am very proud to work for a company that takes women’s issues so seriously.

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Sandra Monroy

I have over 20 years of legal experience, most of it in-house. I started my professional career working as a legal advisor in the notary service. In 2005, I became general counsel for Telebucaramanga, a subsidiary of the telecommunications company Telefónica. Following this, I spent a year practicing litigation in private practice as a senior associate at Baker McKenzie. In 2008, I moved in-house once again as the manager of Latin American corporate legal affairs for the Colombian oil and gas company Terpel (formerly known as Organización Terpel). During the past ten years, I spent two years at TV Azteca as their legal manager, and four years as a legal and compliance director at CenturyLink in charge of the Northern and Andean regions of Latin America. One of the highlights from my time at CenturyLink was working on a team for the deployment of the first submarine cable connecting Colombia with the Pacific Ocean. I then spent a year at Claro Colombia as director of institutional relations and social responsibility, where one of my biggest achievements came in the form of successfully negotiating roaming agreements for the deployment of 4G networks with Avantel, Telefónica and TIGO.

I am now the legal director for the Andean Region for Uber, and for Panama and the Caribbean for Uber Eats. The recruitment team at Uber contacted me in 2018 and I made the decision to move to Uber because I see its importance as one of the most disruptive companies in the world. Through the use of technology it has a huge impact on the communities in which it operates globally. At Uber I am responsible for litigation, commercial and corporate matters, regulatory issues, competition law, and consumer protection rights. I would never include the word ‘typical’ to describe a working day here. My role requires a constant balance between legal strategy and meeting the business’s goals, and minimising risk for Uber while providing the best legal advice. Every day here is full of challenges, so I have to think outside of the box a lot of the time. I have faced a number of compliance challenges, but my team and I work with the board of directors to manage these crises. The experience I have gained has prepared me to handle such challenges successfully, and I have learned how to make a 360-degree evaluation of complex situations in order to come up with ways to solve them.

One challenge modern companies such as Uber face head-on relates to diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for everyone, which includes having policies in place to prevent any form of discrimination or harassment. Uber values the unique contributions of individuals with varying backgrounds and believes that diversity contributes to the success of its business. At Uber, all employees are given the opportunity to develop within diverse employee resource groups (ERGs) such as ‘Pride at Uber’, ‘Able at Uber’, ‘Parents at Uber’, ‘Interfaith at Uber’ and ‘Women of Uber’, among others. These groups promote the diverse nature of Uber’s workforce and improve work behaviours and attitudes every day. ‘Women of Uber’ is an internal group that seeks to find new opportunities, support, and sponsorship for women to ensure all women can speak openly and connect with external networks. It enables them be ‘a voice for women empowerment to change the culture from the inside out’.

“I am strongly committed to empowering the women on my legal team to take risks, to lead and to participate.”

Personally, I promote diversity and inclusion – particularly as it relates to women – by encouraging the women I work with to speak up, to value their own work, and to be confident in bringing their unique knowledge and opinions to the table. I am strongly committed to empowering the women on my legal team to take risks, to lead, to participate in external workshops, and to build their own self-brand. The #MeToo movement created awareness of a difficult reality many people were (and still are) facing in workplace environments. At the beginning of my career, I experienced harassment myself and can assure you that it is not only scary, but it also makes you feel very lonely. What truly amazes me about the #MeToo movement is the way in which it has encouraged women to speak up and support each other. It has certainly proved that ‘unity is a strength’ is more than just four words. The movement has definitely had a major impact on culture and determined a new era in which we women are no longer scared or threatened to speak up for ourselves in unfair situations.

Even though I believe quotas have played a part in creating gender equal workplaces, nowadays we can achieve this in other ways such as by using fair selection processes with clear terms, giving the same opportunities to men and women, and by ensuring we have selection processes that include similar numbers of male and female candidates – as well as male and female interviewers – in order to guarantee inclusive processes that result in fairly elected professionals.

There is an increased understanding of the importance of including women in higher positions and a greater appreciation of women in the professional field. We now see women as high-level partners at top law firms and developing successful careers in leading companies such as Uber. One of the perks in this digital era is having the ability to be connected, and this has an impact on diversity and inclusion. It makes it easier for companies such as Uber to have a global policy on diversity and inclusion that applies worldwide, allowing diversity initiatives to take place without limitations or the excuse of geographical differences.

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Fatima Picoto

Curiosity has always been a part of who I am. As a child, I was curious about everything, and because of that curiosity, I questioned pretty much everything. Being Portuguese, but living in an African colony, my sense of equality and justice was developed early on. I found myself instantly respecting the need for diversity. Having resided in various different continents, this led to me to having dreams of being a diplomat, but instead I decided to pursue a career in law. Given my love of reading and my genuine interest in people and business, corporate law came naturally to me. I really enjoy work concerning business strategy, and this became very clear to me when I was studying economics and law. This interest was furthered while I completed my masters in tax. By joining the law, business and tax together, I discovered my passion. I then started my career as a tax lawyer at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

At GSK, I had the curiosity and passion to learn. With this, in addition to wanting to understand the business, and having people who trusted and supported me, I was eventually promoted to the position of assistant general counsel and legal director of GSK in Brazil. The reason I wanted to work at GSK was because of its reputation as an ethical company. It has clear values that match with my own personal views. It is a multinational company that gives back to society, while also allowing me to interact with many different cultures. GSK, as a company, has provided me with many opportunities to grow and develop.

The legal function at GSK has many different responsibilities, and there is no such thing as a ‘typical day’. In some cases, the legal function is the decision maker and in other cases, it is an advisor. But no matter what responsibility, we are always working closely with the business itself, to clearly define the framework we can navigate within. Legal has several interfaces: some are strictly legal to legal and others are more governance-led, where we design strategy implementation in a sustainable way. It is great to see legal acting as an actual stakeholder in the decision-making process, and certainly today we are finding that an in-house lawyer must also be a respected business partner.

I began to face challenges at the start of my career as a tax lawyer; at the time, it was a very male-dominated profession. I also rather interestingly found that there were barriers for young women without children. After applying for one particular role, I was told I was the perfect candidate, but that they required an assurance that I would not fall pregnant within the next five years. My answer was: thank you for the opportunity, but you are not the right company for me. Many women are expected to adapt their behaviour to get ahead, especially in male-dominated industries such as legal. I do not subscribe to this expectation. Rather than adapting, I would prefer to say that I have found my balance, and that I have learned to navigate my way through. When I first moved in-house, I found that I needed to work more than my male peers and do more in order to create a network, avoid misperception, and get ahead. This should not be the case. And I absolutely believe that one of the main challenges for women pursuing leadership roles within in-house counsel teams (and also, I suspect, in private practice) is finding that balance between their personal and professional lives. This is something men are not expected to consider as strongly as women.

“GSK in Brazil, we have made huge strides to address gender imbalance. Currently, 51% of our total staff is women, and 49% of our leadership positions are also occupied by women. ”

That said, at GSK in Brazil, we have made huge strides to address gender imbalance. Currently, 51% of our total staff is women, and 49% of our leadership positions are also occupied by women. This is due in part to specific programmes we have that focus on accelerating the pace at which women are promoted. The development programmes focus on helping female leaders enhance their leadership presence, inspire others, and plan their careers. Gender equality isn’t just a social concern; it’s good for business too. By understanding that gender diverse teams are more profitable and innovative, organisations can become more successful.

Mentoring is so important for aspiring young female lawyers. This is a relationship based on trust and respect, but I believe it’s not just beneficial for women. At GSK, alongside traditional mentoring, we also undertake reverse mentoring, which helps to change our viewpoint and create more self-awareness. Sharing diverse experiences helps to put things in the right perspective. I believe it’s also incredibly important to have male champions who are vocally and actively supportive of women’s issues, although I prefer to call them ‘human’ issues. For me, the more people speaking out loud in support of women, the better. In my career, I have had many male champions: they listened to me and paid attention, and respected my opinion. But it is a two-way street. The most important thing is to open the space for equal treatment.

I work hard to promote diversity and inclusion, not just specifically for women. I truly believe that we must embrace diversity as much as possible. When we combine our knowledge, experiences, and styles together, the impact is incredible. GSK aims to create a working environment where all employees feel included, respected, and valued for the unique qualities they bring, and are empowered to contribute to their full potential. As a woman in the legal industry, I believe that it is important to be you, to be curious, and to learn as much as you can while trusting yourself.