Key team member:

Valéria Ferraz, Head of Legal

Samylle Anjos, Commercial Legal & Compliance Counsel

Francisco Branco Pardal, Lawyer

Manuela Neves, Legal Relations Specialist

Rita Pires, Tax and Insurance Manager

Mafalda Trindade, Tax Specialist

Team size:  Six

Jurisdictions your role covers: Portugal 

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?

The legal contribution to the overall strategy occurs on two different levels. Firstly, the Head of Legal has a seat on the Management Team, where the topics that give rise to the ‘Strategy on a Page for Legal’ are discussed and decided upon. This strategy is established annually. From this, a very close relationship with the departments supports the development and implementation of the decisions.

The second important level is as follows: the whole team is invited to take part in an off-site quarterly exercise based on legal design thinking. In this exercise, after conducting structured interviews, all suggestions for improvements to legal services, behaviours, or cross-collaboration actions from other departments are mapped and heard, and a system of continuous improvement measures is established according to the priorities. This second step fosters interconnection within the team and creates a strong cross-collaboration framework with other departments, whose needs are identified, acknowledged, and accommodated wherever possible.

How do you approach talent development and knowledge sharing within your legal team? Are there any specific practices or programmes in place? 

Talent development is taken very seriously at the Company. Each colleague has a ‘Professional Development Plan’ agreed with their line manager, which must guide their annual journey. In addition, our regular department meetings (a check-in twice a week and a one-to-one once a week) allow for more individual guidance based on their needs.

Finally, a ‘Buddy’ from the business and a ‘Mentor’ are also assigned to complement the growth journey. The four off-site meetings are also important opportunities to share and listen to different perspectives and needs, as well as to reframe the overall picture.