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A group of lawyers who all have experience of practicing in large law firms, Australis Seafoods’ legal department is able to replicate the focus on excellence and high-quality service those firms are renowned for. The team’s leader and general counsel Ruben Henriquez Nunez shares that while the company’s lawyers are all familiar with the company’s processes and activities, ‘each member plays a different role and has distinct expertise that complements and adds to those of the other members to provide efficient legal support to every company department’. It is worth noting also that each member of Henriquez’s team is committed to going beyond strictly legal matters and are passionate about learning about the business and areas of a more technical nature. This willingness to learn is especially important, given that the team has been at the helm of enormous changes that have affected the larger company. ‘For starters, compliance has become a priority, not only for the purposes of observing the law and the applicable regulations but as a way to instilling a culture of “doing things right”’, Henriquez explains. Although this change of culture takes time, the progress already made to date fi lls Henriquez and his team with great pride. The certification area, which is part of the legal department, has been another area of change, as it recently applied for and obtained an ACS international certification for all production processes, thus ensuring the fulfilment of the highest environmental standards. The department’s current engagement in the process of developing and implementing a company-wide compliance policy is also particularly important, considering the ongoing major culture shift in Chile, as the country’s community is growing more empowered and far more demanding of businesses than it used to be. ‘At this turning point, we have agreed that as a company we need to move forward and be one step ahead of those changes. As such, relying on the appropriate corporate governance and valid compliance policies is not an option but a must for companies to ensure the sustainability of their businesses,’ Henriquez articulates. Australis Seafoods’ legal department has played a leading role in the development of internal policies, dissemination and training mechanisms, and dialogue with stakeholders, as Henriquez believes that a legal department should, in his words ‘prevent non-compliance by providing training on and interaction with production processes and by organising processes, rather than showing up to deal with non-compliance or conflict once they have already occurred’. On the transactional front, the team has recently hit the ground running by closing a refinancing agreement with foreign banking institutions for over US$100m, as well as by completing a corporate reorganisation that will allow more efficient use of resources and permits.