Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

I believe that sharing information, experiences and insights is crucial to be effective as an in-house legal team, this approach is inspired by the concept of ‘cross-fertilisation’ developed by professional innovators and start-uppers. To realize this objective, I have implemented numerous opportunities aimed at promoting this concept of ‘legal cross-fertilization’. These opportunities occur within both formal and structured settings, as well as casual and amicable environments.  

During these instances, myself along with other team members discuss our individual workflows, along with the positives and negatives associated with them. We gather this information within specific grids designed to visually and report explain these details.  

These grids are useful for identifying trends, for example, seasonal peaks of legal work or recurring legal questions from the business. Once we realise that a specific trend exists, we brainstorm on how to deal with it effectively as a team and usually consider all contributions in the solution. The approach we take is innovative compared to the past, is low-cost, and is valuable for our legal team and company, as it improves efficiency, cohesion, consistency, and risk control.
 

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?  

Our bank is a market leader in green finance and ESG-related banking and financial transactions. It has continuously developed a wide range of frameworks, procedures, guidelines, and best practices that ensure compliance with sustainable practices within the bank and when supporting clients in the organisation and execution of such ESG-related transactions. Hence, sustainability will have a strong influence on the role of legal executives, such as general counsel, in fact, they will be key players in preventing ESG-related legal risks, in helping the company and its top management to navigate through the complex and uncoordinated sustainability regulations, and in ensuring that the relevant legal documents are drafted and implemented correctly. With this scenario in mind, I attended an LLM in ‘Law & Sustainable Development’ that specifically tackles the legal framework and key issues of sustainability, as well as their relevance from an economic and regulatory perspective.
 

How do you stay updated on the evolving regulatory landscape in Italy and ensure compliance with domestic laws, EU regulations, and industry-specific regulations?  

Personally, I am involved in the local academia, and this compels me to keep up to date on the legal topics most relevant to my scholarly activities. In recent years I have co-authored several articles on ‘greenwashing’ and, in 2023, edited and contributed to a handbook on securitisation laws and practices. Building on this personal inclination to delve into legal topics, I developed, with the assistance of my team, an online legal newsletter, which collects and publishes relevant updates, in an automated manner, from many qualified online sources. Once my team and I become aware of such updates, we incorporate them into our modus operandi, and then align our business and compliance colleagues on them through dedicated sessions.
 

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?  

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) has historically been a top priority for our legal department. We have always been concerned about gender balance, in fact, we currently have an even 50% split between male and female lawyers in our team. Furthermore, one of our team members created and promotes the DE&I department of our Milan bank, so far, it has focused on developing an inclusive environment for LGBTQ people. Finally, our team is one of the most supportive, within the bank, of DE&I initiatives. I am one of the few male heads of department to participate in them on a recurring basis.