About

Gustavo Biagioli started working at JLL in June 2014. Before that, he worked for RR Donnelley (printing services), Software AG and IT giant Hewlett Packard. In all, he has dedicated over 20 years to corporate advocacy. Since joining JLL’s legal department in Brazil, Biagioli has implemented several changes to the three pillars of management: people, processes and systems. Regarding people, he restructured the team to ensure that all of the company’s business units had a partner in legal support and invested in managerial and operational training. He changed roles and functions so that the old linear structure, in which everyone reported to the director, would have different levels of reporting, empowering managers and a coordinators in the process. All these actions have created a sense of solidarity and a harmonious work environment. The processes have been revised to eliminate unnecessary routines and streamline the dynamics between the legal and internal clients. Biagioli created performance indicators for labour disputes and renegotiated contracts with external offices to ensure the best support for the team. With regard to systems, he implemented legal software to control the flow of contracts, and corporate information. Currently he is in the final phase of a digital signature project, which will gradually eliminate the company’s use of paper, reinforcing sustainability and generating savings. Biglioli has been involved in many important transactions and litigations for the company since joining. In particular a labour suit potentially involving an amount of over R$8m, which he helped to settle for a fraction of that amount. Another remarkable project was the conception of the brokerage platform, which was created to allow the expansion of JLL’s real estate brokerage base. Finally, the achievement of the Pro-Ethics seal – the official certification granted by the Federal Controller General’s Office to very few companies in Brazil that are able to demonstrate their commitment to the highest ethical standards. Biagioli says, ‘Being a legal manager implies continuous dedication. To take care of a team, to be constantly updating the knowledge of the upcoming challenges and opportunities for the corporate advocacy, to guarantee legal security to the company’s business despite the unstable political-economic environment. It is a job that requires passion. And I hope to continue to feel inspired by all those who dedicate their lives to legal management. Among them is, undoubtedly, a distinguished group of in-house counsels with whom I founded, just a few years ago, the “Lawyers Without Tie” initiative, standing for a new stance of the corporate lawyer in front of his or her internal clients, with less legalese and more knowledge of the business and strategic attitude’.