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

Considering the recent acquisition of Aryzta’s Brazilian operation by Grupo Bimbo, my focus as head of legal, has been the work leading to the transaction and all the post-closing affairs that followed, moreover considering this was the biggest QSR acquisition for Grupo Bimbo worldwide. I have been involved in many M&A operations in my career but leading this operation during a pandemic, that was especially hard on the QSR segment, was considerably more challenging. Aside from the M&A, given we were isolated leaders in our segment, commercial contracts and tax matters are also a relevant part of my day.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

The systems being developed to execute repetitive work, such as simple agreements, mass litigation, and others, will guarantee the legal department’s focus on business growth and anticipate the company’s needs and will undoubtedly diminish the posts for non-strategic work. As for the tools I find most useful, workflow tools have been great especially in managing contracts and other documents, project management tools are very helpful for managers to keep tabs of the team and the development of the work, especially with hybrid work policies, and finally litigation management systems are necessary particularly in companies with sizable litigation.

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 first thing is to study the market you are inserted in. It has become clearer each day that companies want more than just a legal counsel, but a legal business partner. The legal department often is the one who has a more general overview of the issues impacting the business and a more direct line with all other areas, so looking beyond the legal impact and being the liaison for other areas to guarantee that a change in policy or a new contract will not negatively impact the company is a valuable key talent. To guarantee the success of that, however, soft skills are also extremely needed, as well as strategically oriented professionals. Finally, it is important to understand the subtle difference between being thorough and micromanaging.