About

‘If I had to define an in-house lawyer I would say: a competent, technical professional with curiosity and interest in the business and operational aspects of her industry’, says legal and government relations manager Vanessa Santos Magalhães. Magalhães is widely known for promoting the in-house legal role beyond its image as a support function, and has often spoken on the evolution of the role. Magalhães assesses and grants safety for various practices within the organisation, she is proficient in due diligence, compliance, M&A, antitrust, and corporate matters. The highly competent Magalhães has provided a substantial contribution to adidas in a short period of time; she has been particularly proactive in the revision of internal processes, which enabled her team of two to give comprehensive advice more efficiently. Additionally Magalhães has also taken a guiding role in various contract negotiations for adidas in Brazil, ensuring that the international sports apparel company gets the best legal and commercial deal. Magalhães states that she loves working as an in-house lawyer because she can ‘stay close to the business and think “outside of the box” about the legal recommendations expected from clients’. The commercial approach to her legal advice has been of huge benefit to adidas as they continue to expand operations in the country.