Can you tell us about your journey to becoming an in-house counsel? What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?  

I always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. My parents had certain doubts, so they sent me to work as a legal clerk before I started college, and that helped me confirm that I wanted to become a lawyer.  

I started working in a law firm. Whilst I was at the law firm, I was hired in a secondment in GE Capital Real Estate and afterward, they hired me as in-house counsel for its equity business. GE sold its equity portfolio to Macquire and after one year of being a manager for Macquire, they hired me. I was with Macquire until 2015 when I was hired by Nexxus.  

In your role as an in-house counsel, what are the main responsibilities and tasks you handle on a day-to-day basis?  

I am involved in all legal matters, from negotiating loans, lease agreements, and all documents for the shows and events, to labour and compliance. One of my main responsibilities is to find a way to close a transaction in the best possible way, without risk for the company. I need to find solutions quickly and be creative. Many of our transactions are not always common ones and I need to find new ways to engage with our clients but also protect the company. 

What are some of the key challenges you have faced as a rising star in-house counsel, and how have you overcome them?  

First, I needed to gain the trust of the stakeholders of the company and prove that I not only have the knowledge, but also the required skills to be the head of legal. Your work speaks for itself, and I have been trying to prove with my actions that I have what it takes to be here. 

Another challenge has been acquiring knowledge on areas that I was not familiar with, like telecommunications. It is hard to implement change, however, if you pay attention to other people, read all documents, study, and most importantly, be humble enough to acknowledge that you need help from other people, then you are able to break out of your comfort zone. I have learned a lot from other team members and external counsel, and I try to be involved in all processes and fully understand the operation and the business itself (not only the legal matters).  

Another challenge was to gain our clients’ trust as a fair and specialised company. I think brokers, external counsel, and clients in general have now a good impression of Nexxus and our internal team, including legal. 

What steps have you taken to enhance your professional development and expand your legal skill set?  

I have been educating myself in many areas that I was not very familiar with. I have attended seminars and been able to learn from external counsel and people inside the company with many years of experience. A big part of being a successful in-house counsel is to understand the legal matters but more importantly, other stakeholders’ needs and requirements. Having knowledge of technical, construction, procedures, and environmental matters, for example, helps you to be a more complete lawyer and to understand what you need to solve a problem, complete a process, or negotiate something. I constantly try to get involved in every step of the process, even if it is not legal, because if you know the entire business, you will understand the strengths and shortcomings and that gives you an advantage in every transaction.