General counsel | Neoenergia
Lara Piau
General counsel | Neoenergia
Team size: 100
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
Some of the most significant cases and transactions concern (i)the purchase and sale of Neoenergia’s PCH’s and Co-generators to Contour Global, Incorporation of Elektro Holding by Neoenergia; (ii)Neoenergia’s IPO held in 2019; (iii) the purchase of renewables assets of Pec Energia to Neoenergia Renováveis; (iv) OPA of Neoenergia Pernambuco; (v) the exchange of generation assets with Eletronorte; (vi) the sale of 50% of Neoenergia transmission companies.
What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?
Focus on innovation not only in technology aspects, but also as a way of doing things differently, creating new processes
A successful in-house lawyer requires consistent experience in legal practice, in a great breadth of themes and measures. Furthermore, there is pressure to do more with less, requiring Legal to perform with financial objectives, with budget limitations. We need to give more efficiency to the necessary interfaces and controls, but without losing the balance between the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the exercise of legal activity today and in the future.
How have you fostered a closer collaboration between the legal department and your business counterparts?
We try to have as many interactions as possible with the business counterparts, in order to understand the specifics and all the relevant aspects of each case. This is one of pillars to provide legal support within the suggested timeframe and present the paths with the least risk, always considering the balance between protection (minimising legal risks) and business risk-taking. This has helped to develop a great relation and integration between the areas, and thus, the business area feels increasingly comfortable involving the legal department in any matter from the beginning. The legal department, on the other hand, feels comfortable to be more proactive.
Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?
I am absolute passionate about the mission to manage people, creating an environment that allows the team members to feel involved in every step, understanding our mission and our deliverables, considering efficiency, digital transformation, globalisation and collaboration, litigation, updating and best practices, and having in mind the exercise of a consistent legal activity today and in the future.