Team size: 15

Focus on: The Changing Role of GCs

The role of corporate lawyer in the last 20 years has changed considerably, from being a professional focused on rules analysis, to analysis of the regulatory environment and its impact on the business, and the ability to react and communicate.

Within the organisation: keep updated on the rules that regulate business, to be able to understand the business from a financial and operational point of view, as well as its main indicators and to participate in decision-making;

Outside the organisation: be updated on the social and political environment in which the company operates, the changes that may affect the country’s economy, constantly review regulatory projects, actively participate in discussions in the guilds aligning positions when regulatory dangers are identified, anticipate any negative effects that could generate any decision or rule and be in the ability to generate spaces with regulators.

This block of activities requires lawyers to have technical skills, no doubt; but mainly soft leadership tools: to know how to listen, understand their internal stakeholders -this includes the people they are in charge of, their peers and their bosses; to be able to have this “balcony view” but also to be involved in the tasks of their team and to set an example with respect to discipline.

Similarly, legal management must incorporate the analysis and continuous improvement of processes, the use and exploitation of technology, which has now become democratised and is available to everyone -or almost everyone-, and the possibility of organising and analysing the data available to the legal areas in order to be able to manage with indicators within the area. Regarding the latter, in the years that I have been in the legal management of my organisation, we have incorporated two specialists in data analytics. This has yielded optimal results in the feedback to prevent disputes with clients and reduce the costs derived from judicial and administrative processes, as well as in other objectives we have pursued.

Finally, management and legal decisions must always be under the mantle of ethics, there must be coherence between the purpose, vision and mission of the company, and the principles and values of the people who compose it. It is not sustainable for organisations to develop activities or make decisions with flexible ethics. One of the main challenges for legal managers is to be able to raise their hand and question decisions when factors such as transparency or honesty are not being considered.

Ensuring that your team members know and share your vision, fostering a culture of awareness and feedback, recognition and motivation, and knowing how to delegate without neglecting the issues are key factors to successfully manage a legal area.