Team size: 20

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

In a company focused on innovation, the team is involved in challenging projects, having to learn about new segments and businesses to deliver the best solutions to the internal customer.

From this perspective, some recent projects deserve to be highlighted: (i) Mercado Play – legal support in the implementation of the Mercado Livre streaming platform, a new company business that allows access to digital content for free (today, with more than 1 .2mn titles available). It is a tool that generates a positive impact on society, as it offers millions of users across Latin America a broad portfolio of free, quality content; (ii) Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu – Naming Rights contract signed between Mercado Livre and the concessionaire Allegra Pacaembu, covering the exposure of brands from the Mercado Livre group, media spaces and benefits that involve the entire ecosystem, such as the Mercado Play streaming platform and the Meli+ benefits program, as well as the definition of the Mercado Pago digital bank as the official payment method for the Pacaembu Stadium. The contract that can last for 30 years, with the potential to exceed the value of R$1bn (in current figures) if all possible contractual renewals are carried out; and (iii) Logistics via Kangu – possibility of contracting freight by any person and/or company using the Mercado Livre logistics network via the Kangu logistics marketplace (a company acquired in 2021), something that, until then, only sellers in the Mercado Livre had access.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

In an industry that grows exponentially, is very dynamic and is constantly changing, an in-house lawyer must basically have the following characteristics:

(i) availability, proactivity and speed of service, as the business moves quickly and cannot wait;

(ii) constant adaptation and learning, as the e-commerce and digital platforms sector is very dynamic and innovative;

(iii) in-depth understanding of the business and its risks, to guide the company’s decisions and be a true business partner;

(iv) dynamism and high technical qualifications to deal with the high volume of work and level of complexity;

(v) knowledge and use of technology to increase the Department’s efficiency and interaction with other areas;

(vi) constant updating of legal discussions regarding digital platforms, in Brazil and abroad, as this is one of the biggest issues at the moment.

How have you fostered a closer collaboration between the legal department and your business counterparts?

We think far beyond the legal demand, as we propose and find solutions together with the business in a co-construction. Instead of just warning about possible risks, we build models and make decisions together with the operation.

Furthermore, with a 360-degree view of all the company’s activities, we are able to see and propose business opportunities that generate positive impacts on results.

With a constant concern for productivity, we raised the area to a level of generating cost avoidance and significant savings for the operation, and efficiency, through technology.

These characteristics strengthen the internal client’s trust, resulting in an extremely close relationship between the business area and the Legal Department, which is extremely close and involves a lot of partnership.

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I like developing people and believe this is my main mission as legal director. I enjoy sharing knowledge and helping professionals grow in their profession. It is also for this reason that I have an academic career in parallel (I completed my PhD in 2017) and teach postgraduate courses, in addition to annually making part of my time available to mentor younger professionals. Within this scope, I am very involved with the feminine and inclusion cause, integrating several groups of women who support each other and seek a more equitable society, such as, for example, Jurídico de Saias, Women in Antitrust, Women in Law Mentoring, the Compliance Women Committee and the Women of Corporate Directors.