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

I had the opportunity to face many different challenges during my career, and especially now at Goodyear Brazil. Ensuring the business feasibility, focusing on the development of a team that shall cover the expectations by demonstrating a sense of high commitment was always my main goal, even in challenging scenarios, like economic crisis or the pandemic. Labour and economic markets evolved faster than the legislation that rule them, what resulted in the opportunity to lead efficient teams, that were able to rethink strategies and solutions, developing feasible alternatives, based on facts, metrics and data, maximising the added value of the legal department to its internal clients.

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

Most definitely. Immense challenges came with the pandemic, such as an economic downturn, labour markets disruption and climate of uncertainty, all of which required innovation, including new strategies and solutions that could not be developed successfully without cross-functional teams. And our legal department was part of it. It was a great opportunity for the legal team to show that it could be more efficient and more cautious about business partners’ needs, positioning the legal team as a strategic partner. It was a moment where decisive legal guidance was required to help ensure the business remained feasible.

As we live in a fast-paced world today, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

I would name commercial awareness, communication skills, ethics and strong desire to learn, as the main skills necessary for an in-house counsel to succeed. Being a corporate lawyer requires the highest degree of honesty, passion for law and for your business. You need to understand not only your role within the company, but also your company’s values, the business and every part of it. You need to be able to listen to your business partners’ needs and help them to succeed with clear legal guidance.