About

An award-winning corporate counsel, Blanca RIvilla Calle is general counsel and deputy general manager of the Spanish investment bank Ahorro Corporación. She joined the company in 2000 as a junior lawyer in the financial transactions law department and was later promoted to general counsel. Last January she was appointed deputy general manager with responsibilities for a variety of financial tasks. Her biggest achievement at Ahorro Corporación has been the creation of an in-house department with high-quality services that resemble those of a law firm. ‘In our activity most colleagues are used to working with lawyers from top firms so we wanted to provide a service they can trust. When I first started there were two separate legal departments: one dealing with financial legal issues and one for corporate legal. The role of these departments was rather technical and not essential advisory. We merged these two departments into one, which incorporates lawyers from law firms and can provide professional and client-focused services’. Among the initiatives she spearheaded for the optimisation of the legal work is the establishment of an internal inquiry for the evaluation of the legal department, as she considers her colleagues’ feedback essential. ‘Last year a colleague from another department left the company and he told me that one of the things he admired about the company was the work of the legal department; he could feel that our team was one of the top in-house teams. He said that he admired my capabilities and the fact that I didn’t hesitate hiring outstanding lawyers and I wasn’t afraid they could steal my thunder. That was one the nicest compliments I have received for my work’ she comments proudly.