Team size: 17
 

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense? 

In 2022 we introduced, for the first time, a chatbot that answers most questions related to corporate in-house keeping and internal approval processes.
 

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years? 

In the next years, the work of general counsels will encompass their traditional tasks, which involves the proper selection of suitable candidates to establish a strong team capable of directly handling legal assignments and efficiently overseeing external counsels. Additionally, they should be ready to step in when needed to optimise the integration of in-house and outsourced legal work. Striking the right balance has consistently posed and will continue to pose an ongoing challenge. This challenge extends to adapting other types of advisors, such as technical or financial experts, especially in sectors like ours. These advisors may be best positioned in terms of knowledge and efficiency to address issues that might initially look solely legal in nature. 

In-house counsel must inherently grasp the business, enabling practical solutions while staying legally vigilant. This coincides with the traditional responsibility of maintaining a motivated, professional team which involves innovative training to sustain their passion. In current and upcoming years, this task escalates due to the rising volatility of new generations and increased post-COVID turnover. 

In the coming years, general counsel will face two key challenges. Firstly, assisting business teams in considering geopolitical trends while making key decisions, anticipating their legal impact, and finding ways to overcome potential hurdles and take opportunities. Secondly, tackling the challenging arising from artificial intelligence which is having an impact across all industries. This involves exploring AI’s application into in-house legal work in a manner that does not demotivate teams, streamlines routine tasks, and frees up energy toward higher-value contributions.
 

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in Italy?  

The challenges within the renewable energy sector revolve around the bottlenecks that arise across the lifecycle of a project and the strategies to overcome these. These include resource-intensive land procurement and negotiations, vague permitting regulations relating to the sometime sloppy provisions that regulate the processes, the shortage of specialised labour during construction, geopolitical supply chain impacts which can add further complexities, and insufficient grid networks and the limited resources to expand them.
 

What is a cause, business-related or otherwise, you are passionate about, and why? 

In our industry, it is natural to be motivated by climate change and the transition towards sustainable energy. However, these factors are not the sole drivers. My team and I are personally motivated by the strong intellectual challenge of the peculiarity of our industry, which involves confronting new business issues daily, many of which lack clear-cut legal solutions or present gaps in the legal framework. This challenge necessitates a deep and solid understanding of the entire legal system and business, which prepares us to navigate and find legal ways to support the business.