Can you tell us about your journey to becoming an in-house counsel? What inspired you to pursue a career in this field? 

I started my in-house counsel journey as an intern, during my last year of law school in Brazil. I joined the Nokia Networks Latin America legal team in Rio de Janeiro, where I was part of a task force that comprised engineers, logistics, sales, and finance advisors, which successfully launched the first GSM network in Brazil. Working in multi-disciplinary teams and being regarded as a member of the business team with legal skills was where I found the passion for being an in-house counsel. It was love at first project!  

In your role as an in-house counsel, what are the main responsibilities and tasks you handle on a day-to-day basis? 

My main responsibilities are to support all of IPGMediabrands’ and Kinesso´s flagship agencies and affiliated businesses on the provision of media services, technology services, media vendor relationships, data and IP licenses, across digital, data and non-digital media in Latin America, by addressing issues pertaining to advertising law, rights of privacy and publicity, user-generated content, social media, and media as well as marketing campaigns tracking and measurement.  

What are some of the key challenges you have faced as a rising star in-house counsel, and how have you overcome them?   

Feeling like an Intern all over again; I was the first dedicated counsel IPGMediabrands hired in the region and remember feeling like an intern for a couple of months because I had no experience in the media industry. Having to carve out my position in the leadership team of a new industry meant that each opportunity or obstacle the agency faced was an opening for me to lean in and earn my place as the legal “quarterback” in Latin America. I could not have done it alone; the collaboration between our leaders and global counsels was key to my successful onboarding. Continuous learning is a behaviour I keep close to my heart and practice daily to this date. 

In April 2021, in less than a week, the Mexican Congress approved a law regulating the relationship between media agencies, advertisers, and media vendors, which significantly impacted the local advertising industry. The following two years were spent managing ambiguity and navigating the market as an intermediary between advertisers and media vendors, each with their own interpretation of the recently enacted law. The challenge was the perfect opportunity to work in collaboration with our strategy leaders to implement new business models, processes, and contract improvements, as well as train our agencies´ sales teams in contract negotiations. All of these initiatives translated into our client’s satisfaction and ensured that we maintained our number one position in the market.  

What steps have you taken to enhance your professional development and expand your legal skill set?  

I have always been fortunate to have extraordinary mentors in my professional life. As an in-house counsel, I make sure I surround myself with mentors in different areas ranging from senior counsel, strategists, sales and account managers, top executives, and now publicists. By doing so, I learned to view obstacles and opportunities from various angles and to make recommendations suited to the scenario at hand. Curiosity is another trait that allows me to develop professionally and personally. The goal is to always learn something new. Every. Single. Day.