Team size: Four

What are the most significant cases or transactions you and your team have been involved in?

During 2021, in the middle of a pandemic crisis, the team grew from being local, dealing with Spanish and Portuguese matters, to become a regional European team giving support to different countries and businesses across Europe. We support more than 26 operating companies. Amongst key transactions completed during this period, we can count the integration of new businesses in Portugal, after the acquisition of the compound feed business from Cargill, and Denmark after the acquisition of the feed business Nutrimin; the reorganisation and transfer of the export business from the Netherlands to Czech Republic or the completion of two mergers of the compound feed business in Spain and the holding business of the Spanish Group too.
We have also played a key role in helping the business deal with the existing crisis on raw materials across Europe, which have significantly affected ensuring good procurement systems and a proper and fit for purpose manufacturing footprint, as well as a proper and effective contract management with key and material customers.

Even in the best-case scenario, Covid is likely to have far-reaching ramifications. How are you safeguarding the long-term health of the business?

As mentioned above, managing the business in a crisis, as the one we lived after Covid and still living in its many ramifications (raise of electricity and gas prices, raw materials shortage and increase of prices, Ukrainian war which has increased the uncertainty even more dramatically) is a priority to the team. Speed of action, reaction and proactivity is key to help the business to adapt and find suitable alternatives with suppliers and customers. The team is supporting and reacting very rapidly to all these situations and the new needs that the different businesses have.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Business and commercial acumen is key to success in the new era of in-house legal teams. Flexibility and adaptability are also key as it is clarity in responses and advice to be given to the management teams of the company. Being clear on what can be done and making sure that a proper assessment on actual risks is made clear for the business is, in my view, an asset for being successful as in-house team. It is not an easy task to achieve, but if a legal team is able to support the business in identifying the actual risks to which the business is exposed on the most important decisions, part of that path for success is already walked.