Can you tell us about your journey to becoming an in-house counsel? What inspired you to pursue a career in this field? 

My first two jobs in the legal team of a company were in a radio broadcaster and in a specialty materials company that had just been acquired by a multinational. During my experience there, I really enjoyed the proximity to the business, and I got to understand the importance of the in-house counsel in the company’s culture and ethical decision-making. A couple of years later, I joined Pearson, a company whose purpose I truly believe in, and which has taught me to be a team player and a solution- focused in-house counsel allowing me to be creative and challenge the status quo to continue delivering the best solutions to contribute to our customers’ learning journey.

In your role as an in-house counsel, what are the main responsibilities and tasks you handle on a day-to-day basis?

I lead a diverse and high-performance team that provides comprehensive legal support across the Latin American region. Among our main responsibilities is contract negotiation, drafting and review and providing general legal advice to various areas of the company. 

In my day to day, I work closely with the Latam leadership team on building new business models, providing guidance on strategic decision making and performing risk analysis. I am also the Local Compliance Officer so there’s a lot of work on that front, like third party due diligence, internal investigations, and training.

What are some of the key challenges you have faced as a rising star in-house counsel, and how have you overcome them?

The best opportunities in my career have arisen in times of uncertainty and change like starting from scratch to build a team in places where I did not know the culture, taking over a department with very limited resources or leading a project that has repeatedly failed in the past, so I had to work on my adaptability and resilience to overcome those challenges by taking them as an opportunity to learn, be creative and innovate. 

Lately with all the technological advances, everything is moving so fast, requiring quick but diligent responses so I consider this as a challenge for all professionals in the legal area who must keep up to date and open to new ways of working.

What steps have you taken to enhance your professional development and expand your legal skill set?

I truly believe that the most important step is to remain curious and humble to recognise that there is always something to learn. 

I always try to stay up to date and participate in seminars, courses, and conferences on industry trends. In 2019 I finished my master’s degree in administrative and tax law, and I have completed various diplomas in law and other topics such as D&I, technology, leadership, and finance. 

Two years ago, I learned to speak Portuguese out of necessity and today I consider it one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because it has allowed me to communicate effectively with my team and learn from them. 

In addition, I have participated in some mentoring programmes (as a mentor and a mentee), which has made me much more self-critical and receptive to feedback.