Group general counsel | Biofarma Group
Massimiliano De Santis
Group general counsel | Biofarma Group
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?
The simplest tool that has helped me to improve and simplify work within the legal team is Microsoft Teams, particularly with regard to the management of more complex projects that require cross-functional collaboration. Thanks to simple tools that allow you to set tasks, share content, prioritise, create Gantt charts, collect documents, and monitor task completion, allows us to easily coordinate tasks between all departments involved in a project.
Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?
I would definitely mention AI (Artificial Intelligence), for example, ChatGPT. I believe that machine learning-based tools will have a huge impact on the work of general counsel in many areas. These tools, as powerful language models, can assist practitioners and speed up their research, drafting and communication work. By learning from legal databases, they provide immediate and accurate summaries, analysis and citations and will help counsel review documents and streamline most drafting processes. The implementation of AI within our corporate legal workflow is a key priority our business’s development plan.
What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?
Our Group is firmly committed to promoting sustainability and having a positive impact on the environment, society, and governance. As part of this commitment, Biofarma is developing an ESG project that requires the commitment of all departments and aligns with our core values and vision of a more responsible future. The legal department is leading the activities to strengthen transparent, ethical, and accountable governance by disseminating and improving the highest standards of accountability and integrity and improving the governance structure.
How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?
Within the first year of establishing the corporate legal department, we introduced new policies aimed at promoting diversity and ensuring a positive and inclusive culture throughout the Group. We drafted a new anti-harassment and anti-bullying policy, which established clear and transparent internal procedures; we also introduced an inclusion and diversity policy and a revised whistleblowing policy, whereby people can speak out in complete safety, including through a digital platform that allows them to report anonymously thanks to the use of data encryption.