‘Prior to my arrival in Indra, all legal work regarding the Portuguese subsidiary was outsourced, this means that the biggest change in the legal department was its creation from scratch. That allowed the company to rely on an in-house team that ensures the legal work both for Portugal and for the Portuguese speaking African countries’.

In overseeing this transformation, Luís Graça Rodrigues, regional counsel of Spanish information technology and defence systems company Indra Sistemas, has amassed a reputation of being an internationally-minded counsel that provides a top class level of support to his business colleagues. Rodrigues describes the ‘global nature’ of his work as encompassing not only different geographies but different legal areas under his supervision, he is responsible for the legal department for Portugal and Portuguese speaking African countries.

This, he explains, means he handles the company’s projects for Lusophone Africa. Rodrigues is particularly keen to point out an in-house career highlight of ‘establishing an in-house legal department at Indra Portugal, bringing together the experience and know-how, previously acquired, as a lawyer in private practice and at law firms, [and] as a legal counsel for public procurement at the National Authority for Road Safety (ANSR). I then adapted this to the company’s specific needs’. Not only establishing this team, Rodrigues was instrumental in the company’s growth into new markets – having extended his remit into Portuguese speaking African countries – involving ‘the daily coordination of different subjects related with specific contract negotiations, litigation and employment relations but also the daily interaction with legal teams from different countries’. Also having a keen ear to industry-affecting market changes, he has overseen the creation of different workshops in legal matters that may impact the activity of other departments in the company and provide the training to different teams.

Topics these workshops cover include cutting-edge subjects like public procurement, employment law and GDPR, showing Rodrigues’ commitment to preparing the company for future, as of yet uncharted challenges. He states these initiatives had a ‘notorious impact’ considering ‘the understanding of these subjects shown by the staff in all tenders and contracts we have negotiated’ since. Having built up a department that has achieved ‘recognition by directors and administration [staff], who see us as an essential partner in Indra’s business and also by the local institutions, like universities’, Rodrigues is a shining example of a business-savvy legal counsel working across multiple jurisdictions.