(currently at Mello Torres)

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

The challenges for the mining area in one of the largest mining companies in the world are enormous. More recently, Vale’s mining team, led by me until October 2022, faced complex challenges, such as supporting the areas of the company that directly dealt with the global agreement, comprising seven major contracts, two of which are mining, which allowed the approval by RJ of Samarco, the company from which Vale holds 50%; challenges related to the release of important areas for the implementation and operation of relevant projects for the company, both in Minas Gerais and in Pará; in addition to the constant challenge for Vale with regard to dam safety, such as the various agreements entered into with the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais, which allowed Vale to continue operating in its main projects in Minas Gerais. The last agreement entered, which allowed the company to carry out the de-characterisation of the upstream dams, prohibited by law since the Brumadinho accident, amounted to more than R$237mn. Finally, a major challenge was participating in the construction of one of the most important standards in recent years with the National Mining Agency, which compiled the entire issue related to dam safety at the national level.

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

Yes, the pandemic reinforced ties that were already close between me, as a leader, and my team, made up of high-level professionals with an immense capacity to deliver results for the internal customer and, consequently, for the company. The period in which we worked from home did nothing to interfere with the delivery of results or interaction with the team, always united and motivated to do our best and help each other.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

Working with offices that are aligned with the company’s values ​​makes all the difference. In this line, I understand that when we deal with law firms, whose team is made up of members from companies, interaction is easier insofar as the corporate lawyer, when migrating to the law firm, takes with him the knowledge of what exactly the client corporate craves in their demands.

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?

The main skills required today for corporate lawyers to better perform their duties, in addition to a very high technical level, are active listening, open and transparent dialogue, the ability to receive feedback, resilience, availability for dynamic customer service internal, deep involvement in the company’s business and, finally, given the dynamism of the corporate world, an incredible ability to build relationships and adapt to the new.

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

Undoubtedly, in a scenario in which the company faced two serious crises, involving dam accidents, one of the norms that most impacted, not only the company, but the mineral sector, was ANM Resolution n. 95/2022, given the profound compilation of standards related to dam safety to be applied throughout the national territory. Despite the depth of the changes, as well as their obvious need, the interface with the regulatory and control bodies was extremely rich and brought important learning to all those who were involved in the discussion prior to the publication of the standard.