What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

My company has just completed its first anniversary, and so my first mission was to structure our legal team, finding professionals with good background in the sector, and a personal profile with cultural fit. Thankfully, I succeed in finding great people, and since day one we have been working hard to implement the contract standard templates, internal policies and procedures, and supporting the company’s business strategy, so we can prosper and successfully execute our planning. The challenge to support the growth of a new company was the turning point for my decision to join Great Wall.

Did the pandemic lead to a lasting increase in the interaction your legal team has with the strategic plans of the company?

Me and my team have started in the new company working entirely from home, so initially there was a challenge of keeping a routine of topics to be dealt with, directors to guarantee visibility and transparency about the work that was being done.

Legislation and some legal activities are different in China, where the company headquarters is located, so it was very important to integrate cultures and align the local sensitive topics, allowing the local legal team to define the workflow and plan integration with our Chinese colleagues.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

In view of my actual reality, new company, new business, everything new for us and for our Chinese colleagues, it is very important to keep visibility of the work that is being done, to provide training sessions to teach them about our local legislation and practices and dealing with the multicultural customs.

Considering that both countries are very different, trust above all is very important. Our Chinese colleagues needs to know that we are technically capable, and that we will always do what is right and the best for the company.

What are some of the main legislative or regulatory changes that have impacted you?

For the last 5 years, I believe for most legal departments, the biggest impact was labour legislation. In 2017, we had the labour reform, with very good changes in the law, but also some controversies that, predictably, would be challenged before courts. Also, when the pandemic started, many provisional measures were enacted in a short term, requiring from the legal department, a rapid response.

A learning process is still impacting our daily basis, but it was very important, especially considering that our courts are still deciding about some labour reform topics, and we cannot predict if new changes will come in this uncertain political scenario. Some local laws are very different from China, including labour matters, and all potential change will need to be followed very closely, anticipating any impact in the company’s new business in Brazil.