About

Can you briefly explain how the legal team is structured, highlighting key individuals and their role within the department?

The structure of the legal department: one head of legal who oversees all legal matters across Latam and Caribben – eight countries); one legal counsel who supports me mainly on contracts in Brazil; one legal assistant who supports the management of labour litigation in Brazil; and one contracts administrator that oversees matters of compliance in all contracts negoations.

What are the most significant cases and/or transactions that your legal team has been involved with in the last two years?

This year the team was a part of the significant growth of operations in Brazil (almost 3,000 employees in five months) and assist all staff areas, including the negotiation of two new buildings and five new clients.

How important have “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill been to the team’s success, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess?

I think having knowledge of each stakeholder’s department and understading their needs is a differencial for a legal counsel because in this way we can provide the best legal solution for the business. Also, leadership skills is one the most important thing that a legal counsel should have. Taking leadership of the situation and drive for the best solution is something that the board expects from us.

How can in-house legal teams be an integral part of their firm’s business? How does the legal team demonstrate its value to the company?

Mostly understanding the business, having a broad knowledge of the activities of each stakeholders, providing visibility of legal issues and possible solutions for the board and mainly acting as one team demonstrating that a legal solution may be applicable to the solution of the problem in accordance with the need of the business.

Can you identify the most important elements of creating an in-house legal team from scratch? What specific steps do you take? What do general counsels need to look out for when creating their legal team?

Definition of the team’s central purpose, what is desired outcome for the team’s activities and how will results be achieved; hire the right people based on their drive, motivation, who can adapt to the job and can learn the necessary skills; set goals that people understand; and finally make sure the team knows that I’ll be supportive anytime. Also, to help build trust between employees and team members, it’s necessary to create an environment where relationships can be forged. Keep the work setting casual, allowing people to be relaxed and to communicate openly.

Is diversity and inclusion as a matter of internal policy on the agenda at your company? How much influence do you, as an in-house legal team, have on the diversity and inclusion policies of your organisation?

Diversity is a very hot topic in our company, mainly because contact centre companies are known for inclusion, accepting all genres. I experience this every day, most of our leadership is made up of women and LGBTQ+ members.

How do you protect the company from labour issues? In our previous correspondence you identified that you implemented “awareness programmes”. What did this entail? Was it successful?

For a successful litigation management programme and protect the company, not only must a company focus on minimising losses arising out of litigated claims, it must also identify the underlying causes and implement appropriate changes to address the problems. To do that, a company needs to start with a review of its internal policies and procedures and the attitudes and behaviours of its management to obtain a better understanding of the culture within the organisation. With that information, a company can begin to implement necessary changes such as conducting regular training and awareness programmes, developing and monitoring management leadership, creating labour relations awareness programmes, and working more closely with internal and external legal counsel to help develop a more employee-friendly environment which will result in fewer labour disputes and claims. The awareness programmes is always a very good idea since the leadership team has lessons of how to deal with employees without incurring moral harassment, what moral harassment is and how does it affects the employees and the business of the company, and what are the legal consequences for themselves.

Focus on…

CULTURE

With the significant growth of Concentrix in Brazil, some changes are being made by the new executive leadership, especially on the emphasis placed on employees to live the company’s culture and the spread of it.

The legal department specifically has been very engaged in culture propagation. I was one of the organisers of the culture event, engaging all departments of the company in an event to talk specifically about the culture and each of the values.

Interestingly, the legal department is an increasingly relevant part of the company’s growth, not only because it simply provides legal advice to stakeholders, but because it is also called upon to participate in the decision-making process of the company as a whole, and promulgate diversity and social inclusion, being directly involved in company campaigns that do not necessarily involve legal issues but their presence is important in order to bring all areas closer together.

People see the legal department as a strong advocate for diversity and social inclusion issues, as well as a driver of corporate culture. The legal department was seen until then as a serious department and behind the scenes, today is seen as a strong image of culture, a department that supports and engages directly in social inclusion and diversity campaigns through its direct participation in programmes that support these themes.