About

The legal team of the Japanese multinational food and chemical corporation Ajinomoto do Brasil brings together all of the company’s professionals involved in legal, intellectual property and government relations into a single, integrated and strong unit. With the recent standardisation of internal policies and procedures and the establishment of a centralised and integrated communication flow, the department has transformed into a ‘fundamental and strategic’ element of Ajinomoto’s future in Brazil according to Ricardo Sasaki, corporate legal director. To support the business effectively, in the past several years, the team has introduced a number of innovations, including non-litigious mechanisms to resolve disputes. ‘We are working hard to change a culture of litigation to a culture of conciliation, through which the parties involved can achieve positive results , avoiding loss of time, money and breakdown of relationships,’ Sasaki shares. ‘With the introduction of non-litigation mechanisms to resolve disputes, the legal team has been reducing the total number of lawsuits of the company and consequently contributing to reduce the astonishing number of lawsuits in Brazilian courts that consume a very high cost and burden the entire Brazilian society’. The team also coordinated, prepared and implemented a system of policies and regulations that brought optimisation, standardisation and agility of all the processes and procedures of the activities of the three divisions within the company. Ajinomoto’s legal unit in Brazil features a number of prominent lawyers, such as the aforementioned Ricardo Sasaki, Marsal Villas Boas and Pâmela Hirai, who are known industry-wide for their outstanding skills and experience.