Have you had any experiences during your career as a solicitor that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?

Being part of a legal team in a business group presents several challenges on a daily basis. However, when business groups are multinational, the most interesting challenge is learning about and getting used to different laws and cultures. The legal profession is usually practised locally, as a licence is required to practise law, and you cannot practise in jurisdictions other than the one in which you obtained that licence. Thus, the challenge of being able to handle different countries as a corporate lawyer requires the creation of international work teams with external lawyers who have experience in the local environment and who are also able to adapt to working with the internal teams of each company. Finding them is not easy, but when a detailed and careful process is followed, it is possible to forge important alliances in both national and international markets, which allow for better and easier management of the tasks that all legal teams with an international vision have.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company? Can you share an example of a recent legal-led initiative that had a significant impact?

Legal teams make various contributions, the most underrated of which is preventing future risks for companies. However, these tasks are carried out on a daily basis and not on an exceptional basis, so I believe that the distinct task with which our team has contributed to business growth is the creation of corporate compliance policies and procedures. It is undeniable that compliance has taken on great importance in today’s world, even leading to several pieces of legislation requiring certain companies in certain sectors to implement these policies as part of their control processes. Thus, regulated companies have initiated their internal processes out of obligation, and others have done so as a good practice of corporate governance. Whether or not you are a regulated entity, having clear and defined compliance processes contributes to the growth of the company, as they demonstrate soundness, honesty, and control in the company’s actions and the internal or external relationships it maintains in compliance with its corporate purpose.