How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience? 

At Xignux, the legal team strives to minimize the adverse impact that periods of instability and/or crises can bring to our organization by gathering the complete and accurate facts of the situation at hand; assembling the correct team to face it; pinpointing the risks to which we are exposed; defining the appropriate strategy to mitigate and address such risks; transparently communicating the situation and suggested action plan to our management team; and establishing protocols and internal policies to ensure that we are better prepared for similar circumstances in the future.

Our business strategy includes creating competitive advantages for our clients, generating value, and standing out as a customer-focused company. To the extent that we can effectively implement the abovementioned methodology and identify and mitigate the risks to which we could be exposed, we’ll be in a better position to solidify our company as a leader in the energy and food industries in North America.

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently? 

Xignux has been actively involved in M&A activities in the past years. I’ve had the pleasure of participating in Xignux’s latest M&A transactions, including the acquisition of SPX Transformers (a company specialized in the design, manufacture, and servicing of power transformers and components) from SPX Corporation for US$645M; the sale of Centelsa (a premium cable manufacturer in Latin America) to Nexans for US$225M; and the sale of Sao Marco (one of the main manufacturers of magnet wire and copper upcasting in Brazil) to Montana Aerospace.

Our legal team is extremely hands-on in these type of transactions; we like to take the lead in deals and are actively involved throughout the whole process. Part of our work includes, among other things, drafting and negotiating the purchase agreement and other ancillary documents required for signing and closing, participating in the deal structuring, confirming regulatory compliance, overseeing post-closing integration/separation, and ensuring fulfilment of post-closing obligations.

Which legal tech organisations or products are helping you in your role?

It’s no secret that technology has significantly advanced in the past years. Although some within the legal industry may be reluctant to use it to replace day-to-day activities performed by lawyers, our legal team sees technology as a strong ally that can bolster our potential and enhance the provision of our services. Thus, we have relied on custom-made technology tools and off-the-shelf tech products to create efficiencies within our line of work, all of which have allowed us to cope with the accelerated growth that our company has had. A couple of examples would be an electronic program that automatically generates contract forms for standard agreements (based on certain information that is fed to our software), as well as electronic databases for executed contracts, regulatory compliance, and owned and leased properties (which include automatic email notices and reminders for deadlines on specific activities).

Additionally, we are constantly testing new products that are used by law firms and legal teams around the world to confirm that we have access to the best available tools that will allow us to exceed expectations when providing our services.