Team size: Nine

Key team members: Diego Nocetti, Ferdinand Zumbusch, Paola Violin, Matheus Telles, Heather Hong, Dragana Raicevic, Amanda Baba, Shavena Meston, Ahmed Abualjadail

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?

In collaboration with our English lawyers, we designed terms and conditions that govern our day-to-day commercial agreements. This was based on a thorough analysis of all our stakeholders’ needs. Rather than Austrian law, we decided to design a balanced contract template based on English law.

As a result, our commercial litigation has drastically reduced. The few commercial litigation cases that arise are effectively arbitrated as per forum choice before the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, which offers time and cost-efficient proceedings.

Since the implementation of the new legal management, we have delivered numerous trainings on legal topics relevant to colleagues in tax, logistics, finance, accounting and commercial at the Vienna office. The trainings are always designed in hybrid mode and engage participants through case studies and online quizzes. The most recent topics included the new Incoterms, rules of representation, data privacy, competition law, complex commercial contracts, such as distribution, and franchising regulation.

In case a contract we are advising on is not in line with legal contract policies and our recommendation, we have developed a documentation process that allows the respective commercial or procurement directors to proceed in deviation of the policy, upon thorough legal advice and risk assessment. This has expedited negotiations and significantly reduced lead times for contracts by ascribing responsibility to the appropriate stakeholders.

Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives?

The biggest project outside of traditional legal advisory is the implementation of data privacy solutions. Some of the most notable data privacy acts are applicable to us. The challenge here is to go far beyond the mere advisory function, by thoroughly investigating data processing and transfer of personal data within the group; and implementing not just legal, but technical solutions, based on a multi-disciplinary understanding of all relevant departments required to deliver the due data protection of our stakeholders.

With the compliance team we have much collaboration, of course. Most recently, we set up a new and improved dawn raid guide, worked out the checklists and guidelines on how to handle such precarious situations, and trained the respective office and IT staff on its effective execution.

Can you sum up the team culture/ethos in one sentence? 

We reflect a Brazilian working culture that places an emphasis on high expectation on the quality and speed of legal work results, while maintaining a very close and personal relationship among team members.

We maintain a very open and informal communication channel within the team, especially during the weekly meetings, in which all members are invited to provide 360° support on critical legal projects. Members from across geographic regions are teamed up on rolling basis for ongoing legal projects. Physical get togethers are also arranged on an annual basis for teambuilding purposes.