Team size: ten

Major legal advisers: Arias, ALCOGAL, Morgan & Morgan

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

The event that has most affected the team in recent times, is undoubtedly the COVID-19 pandemic and everything it has entailed from its beginnings in 2020. This unexpected phenomenon has changed the work paradigm everywhere and has obliged us to adopt new forms of collaboration and teamwork to keep our projects going. We have had to comply with all the urgent regulations that have been put in place in all the jurisdictions we operate to mitigate risks. However, we managed to obtain significant success on the corporate side thanks to the purchase agreed with our longstanding competitor Veolia, and the consortium composed of investors companies Meridiam, GIP, and the Caisse des Dépôts Group. The operation accounted for more than €10.4 bn — it required hard work and commitment from the team throughout the last year and will surely give rise to new challenges and goals in the near future for Suez.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

The role of the in-house lawyer will evolve in several aspects during the next few years. From an eminently legal and operational standpoint, the scope of the legal departments in the company will change, moving towards an efficient approach, principally driven by the introduction of new technologies. It will lead to the more active participation of the legal department in the strategic planning of the company and the simplification of the contractual processes. Additionally, from a purely operational point of view, the way legal teams are managed will also evolve to a less rigorous and more flexible approach, aligned with the interconnectivity with other functional teams and the efficiency of the processes. We have witnessed the in-house role evolving to become more strategic and business-oriented in the last few years, and I believe the transformation will continue in the future.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected the company and the team’s priorities?

Sustainability is our core value — we have adopted several measures against climate change, which cover a broad spectrum of environmental services to manage water, air, and solid waste efficiently. Those three axes are fundamental in implementing the circular economy, which is a well-rooted social development principle in Europe, and that Suez is seeking to implement in Latin America. We are conscious of the challenges for the region and that the implementation of new technologies and projects aimed at long-term sustainability requires an appropriate regulatory framework, legal certainty, and investment capital —key elements that should come mainly from public initiatives and policies.