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

This year, we completed the construction and started copper production at the QB2 project in the north of Chile. This is the largest project currently being built in Chile, with a total investment of over US$8bn. At the peak of its construction, we employed a total of 25,000 workers. QB2 involves the construction of a new port (for the export of copper concentrate), desalination facility, water and concentrator pipelines, transmission lines, camp to accommodate 10,000 workers and a copper concentrator at 4,400 masl.

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 challenges facing companies of the size and complexity of Teck Resources have, of course, a legal component. However, the legal dimension is not necessarily the most important aspect when deciding a conflict, as that must be combined with multiple other layers of complexity, which are provided by other professionals with whom the In-House Counsel interacts regularly. Thus, on top of the legal dimension, you need to add the social, reputational, labor, environmental aspects, among others, which makes the decision process more complex, forcing the in-house counsel to understand other views to the problem. Not only is it necessary to ask the question: Is it legal or not? but we need to add to the equation factors such as: what will stakeholders, workers and suppliers think if we take such decision? Is this a solution that really solves the problem and is it sustainable in the long term? Will this affect the reputation of the company? Is this the “right” decision and, if not, “what ought to be”? (Ben Heineman describes this dilemma extensively in his book “The Inside Counsel Revolution”).

In this context, in-house counsel working in complex environments face problems that are often outside of their comfort zone, having to deal regularly with problems that are eminently technical, such as emission standards, environmental issues, industrial processes, geological issues, conflicts with communities, safety, among others. In those areas, which are outside of his core expertise, the in-house counsel needs to decode the expert’s technical language, interpret it, and transform it into a legal solution that responds to a strategic objective that is sustainable in the long term. However, as there is no “single” solution that meets all concerns, the in-house counsel needs to analyse which is the best sub-optimal option, which involves an analysis of the different available alternatives, determining costs and benefits of each one.

The natural risk for the in-house counsel is to outweigh the legal risk, when often the most relevant risks to organisations sit in other areas, such as reputational risk and its relationship with its stakeholders.

The in-house counsel must be able to ask and give his opinion on issues that are not necessarily legal. This, even at the risk of being told that he is out of his depth.

The in-house counsel must also have the courage to speak up and ask key questions which others may be afraid to ask, which, if not raised timely, may result in large losses to the corporation.

Furthermore, the in-house counsel should be interested in deepening his knowledge in accounting, financial, tax, business plan, organisational and technical matters. That knowledge will enrich the analysis, allow the proposals to be improved and generate stronger results. By having multiple competencies, the in-house counsel will be able to better diagnose the problem and consequently contribute to a more robust legal solution.

Among the skillset I deem crucial for the in-house counsel is the creativity to pursue innovative solutions (skill not typically taught at our universities). When we talk about creativity in the legal profession, people usually stare at you; we tend to think that creativity is monopolised by other professions. This is a bias, especially when decisions become increasingly complex. The in-house counsel must be able to actively listen, raise warnings, influence and lead the corporation towards what he believes is the most desirable solution, being creative in the search of innovative solutions.