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

As a lawyer working for one of the largest suppliers to the mining industry, every negotiation is a challenge. Most mining companies have their own contractual terms and changing them requires very meticulous negotiation and the ability to convince the client that our terms are reasonable, and that our ultimate goal is to provide exceptional service, with the best products and equipment in this very competitive industry. As a result of those negotiations, today all the contracts we have in place are in accordance with our own terms and conditions, which limit liabilities, consequential damages and protect our greatest asset, our intellectual property.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

This is key, just as the company trusts us as in-house counsel, we must trust, feel comfortable and have an external partner who shares our company’s values. I have chosen the external law firms that work with us because Weir has many policies and practices that our selected external counsel must understand and comply with. Every firm is different, so when I choose a law firm I do so with the company’s interests in mind.

Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change in their organisations?

We are on the inside; we know the business and its needs and therefore we are in a great position to advise our internal clients on what changes they may need to implement to limit their liabilities and their exposure to risk. At the end of the day, we are business partners; we need and want their business to succeed and we, as legal advisors, can help them achieve that.

If existent, can you talk about you or your company’s efforts relating to renewability, sustainability or other environmentally friendly activities?

Weir is incredible in this area. As a company, there is a major project to reduce the company’s footprint, which will reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 from a 2019 base year and reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions from the use of products sold by 15% in the same timeframe. Locally, our San Bernardo site installed 140 photovoltaic panels, which will generate around 120,000 kWh annually and replace an average of 20% of our service building’s annual energy consumption. This is equivalent to avoiding the emission of around 48,000 kg of CO2 in a year and has a significant recycling programme, compliant with PET legislation. I am excited to see how Weir is helping to achieve more sustainable business.