How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

Managing legal matters during periods of crisis or internal or external instability requires rigorous legal analysis, a thorough understanding of the facts, efficiency, effectiveness and strong teamwork, all while maintaining awareness of both the organisation’s normal operating conditions and the reality of the crisis that must be addressed and understood. Conducting a proper “crisis due diligence” is essential. In certain countries and industries, crises or instability events are more common than in others, which is why the ability to react swiftly, and the practical experience to manage such situations, becomes crucial.

Crisis management is not about simply putting out fires; it is the moment when experience allows you to identify the cause or origin of the crisis, analyse it and drive the assertive development of a solution or, where that is not possible, mechanisms to mitigate its negative impact. At times, crises also generate positive outcomes, and these must be included in the analysis.

Another essential element in crisis situations is knowing and recognising the team. The strengths of each member must be activated. When teams are solid and training has been adequate and timely, they are able to deliver results even in periods of instability. Resilience lies within the team members; and in the case of the legal team, whose function cuts across the entire business, it is imperative to be able to respond in a way that supports senior management, internal clients and stakeholders, all of whom are affected during a crisis.

Understanding the business, the external circumstances that triggered the crisis and the assessment of risk must all form part of the analysis when assigning legal teams during these moments. The key lies in the team and in conducting proper crisis due diligence. These two elements ultimately allow the organisation to overcome the crisis and emerge stronger.

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

Among the most interesting and formative professional experiences across more than 30 years of practice have been the divestment and investment processes in which I was able to participate actively as part of interdisciplinary and multicultural teams. Each of these transactions presents a unique and distinct challenge, as they require not only an understanding of the business (the transaction itself) but also active involvement in the decision‑making process in many ways. Bringing these transactions to completion always leaves behind knowledge, experience and, above all, personal growth.

In a process of this nature, significant in scale and involving numerous stakeholders, there are long hours of work, meetings, deliverables, expectations and unexpected realities. You become part of the process, and the final vision is the expected outcome delivered on time and in the right form. Eventually, the transaction is achieved, signed and closed. Afterwards, there is also a review phase, including identifying areas for improvement in future processes.

In this fluid and demanding environment, being an active member of the seller’s team means that, at the moment of closing, within minutes you may find yourself on the other side, becoming part of the buyer’s team. While it is a privilege to see the process from a 360‑degree perspective, the ethical and professional demands, as well as the need for adaptability, are not written in any manual, and no one prepares you for them. You learn through the process. The in‑house legal adviser learns along the way and witnesses the results of their efforts from both sides of the bridge they helped to build. It is a challenging journey that has brought me great professional and personal satisfaction.

There is no formal training for this; you do not have a change‑management team accompanying you. You work to achieve the objective, the sale of the asset or business, and at the end you feel the satisfaction of a job well done. Then, suddenly, you are part of the investor who believed in the business you helped transfer. It is that simple and that transparent: you are now part of a new team, responding to a new organisational culture that observes you with its own expectations.

Your professional and personal resilience is put to the test, as is your ability to adapt with clarity. Professionalism and personal ethics become your only anchors, because the business and the organisation do not stop. Change management effectively falls into your hands. The acquiring organisation’s leadership, the investor, the buyer, places its trust in your work; and it is at that moment that everything begins again and takes on new meaning. You must build synergies, identify support teams, understand your internal client, adapt and move forward. My personal advice is to continue, learn and adapt; there are no limits.