How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?   

With courage and transparency.  

It is always important to keep everyone duly involved and informed in the organisation, particularly the team about all the events and risks that we are approaching as lawyers or compliance officers. Setting a plan with clear duties of responsibilities and goals inclusive of timelines and expectations and giving the proper empowerment and information will allow to keep the team motivated to face adversity. These kinds of situations are always on the radar but can also be unexpected. Compliance is always a good factor to have in execution, as it will give certainty and security to everyone and will give clear thoughts on what is before us. 

Now, the strategy always has to be aligned to the best interest of the company, so setting values as compliance, security, resilience, among others complies with the vision of the company. Policies and directives involving the persons who are on the frontline of the solution to the crisis also have to be well outlined.   

What are the main cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?  

Contract transactions to grow the business, organically and inorganically, where hard work and thinking is involved. As well as complex litigations to defend the interest of the company. 

How do you manage and motivate your legal team to ensure high performance and professional growth?  

Transparent and direct communication is a must to keep the team engaged. We have set different kinds of meetings to keep that kind of communication and keep motivation levels high. Since scheduling 1:1, stand up meetings, and planning special committees, people are allowed to discuss, exchange ideas, be aware of other needs and raise the bar for higher goals. In those committee meetings, we review results from the company and even from the team, allowing us to align our strategy to the business, trying to be one step ahead of issue(s) or be involved in the development of one.  

Talking about motivation, I have set up a recognition plan; people are very motivated when they feel that they receive recognition for their extra effort. This plan allows other members to give recognition cards or to vote in favour of other members to highlight some achievement or outstanding goal. Additionally, we have a succession plan as well with a clear professional profile that is the guide to develop ourselves and set a career path to get there and oversee the legal area. And for instance, with that path, they can set practice areas which they have discovered to be an area of improvement and maybe, make some cross-functions or participate in projects in other jurisdictions or countries. All of this is supported by a legal academy where they can receive not only academic material and knowledge but also testimonies from other colleagues on special matters or situations that could help them to develop technical and soft skills to assist their professional growth.