Can you give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently?

We have worked in quite a few interesting and challenging cases, transactions and projects throughout my career at Gerdau Metaldom, including four successful trade remedies and antidumping cases before the Dominican Trade Defense Commission, one successful unfair competition investigation conducted by the Competition Defense Commission, a successful merger transaction and multiple financing transactions.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

The Covid-19 pandemic has broken many paradigms and shifted working patterns across many professions and occupations, and this reality has not escaped the world of work for in-house legal counsel and the functions they are a part of. Suddenly, we had to rely almost exclusively on digital solutions and electronic tools. Virtual meetings and videoconferencing through Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other similar platforms became the new normal, substituting the traditional face-to-face meetings. Electronic signatures, which had not been widely accepted–at least in our country–started replacing handwritten signatures in various transactions. As in-house legal counsel, we had to quickly adapt to this new reality and change our mindset to stay productive, deliver results and keep adding value to our organisations. We had to stop thinking that our office was only that designated physical space where our desk, computer monitor and keyboard were installed, but rather anywhere with a decent Internet network to which we can connect our mobile devices to. We had to become “on-the-go” lawyers.

Can you sum up the team culture in your legal department? How does this contribute to your success?

I would say that our legal department team culture is very simple and we started building it by first defining a purpose that was in line with our corporate values and strategy. In our case, the purpose of our legal department is to facilitate secure business transactions. Once you define a purpose and make the commitment to deliver on that promise, you start developing a unique style or way of doing things, which then becomes part of your culture. In our legal department we value attributes like collaborative work, empowerment, simplicity, staying up-to-date and to celebrate goals. This culture keeps us motivated and committed to our clients, and always striving to deliver the best results to our organisation.