How do you approach the management of legal issues during periods of instability or crisis, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure organisational resilience?

We are a corporation that is highly flexible to change. We operate in a planned manner, considering different scenarios – both favourable and adverse. We are prepared for this, making it very easy to adapt to any crisis because the Primax Legal team is versatile. Of course, we may encounter “unforeseen events,” but we can always count on the team’s ability to react effectively to mitigate risks and learn from what has happened.

Within the planning is the relationship of coexistence with all areas of the company. However, the commercial area serves as a fundamental axis within our strategy as a legal department. We perceive our work as a service area that operates even before the internal client’s request. The commercial area is fundamental for us. We must accompany them, provide them with management security, and anticipate their needs. To this end, we prioritise constant communication. It is essential to talk, to know, and view situations from their perspective to provide them a tailor-made service. Anticipation and communication serve as the keywords to maintain an efficient and effective relationship with the commercial area.

What emerging technologies do you think will have the most significant impact on the legal profession shortly and how do you keep up to date with these developments?

One of the most relevant aspects is the contribution of digitalisation and AI to legal productivity and their obvious impact on business development.

We know that new technologies are continuously advancing and improving. Some technologies are more efficient than others, and for the legal aspect, it is essential to have more lawyers involved in feeding information to these developments. This way, we can have much more control and be much more predisposed to rely on new technologies from the point of view of a lawyer.

The first thing that stands out is the reduction of errors, whether big or small. Technology helps in time management and the review of smaller errors.

For one important reason: transparency of information and ethical values. On the other hand, there is the efficient use of business resources, in that line the lawyer’s work will benefit from the production of more limited work, leaving room for legal analysis based on the person’s professional experience. Another point that seems important to me is the management of legal content, I am sure that the more information we have administered, managed and organised, the better we will be able to improve delivery times to internal clients.

This is all good news, but in my view, the legal profession is irreplaceable. No matter how educated AI becomes, it will be impossible to replace the lawyer’s expertise, trial and error, a perspective that goes beyond intelligent, automated programming of standard responses.

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?

In Primax’s legal department, we maintain and preserve continuous improvements in this area. Inclusion within the area is fundamental to our management. All responsibilities have parity in management. The team is made up of 20% women and 80% men. However, the deputy head of contracts and projects – a woman and a mother – is responsible for the most important legal decisions. We do not make distinctions based on sex, race, age or gender. What we prioritise is the practical experience and the ability of each member to make decisions and proposals. We start from the fact that the management of the company allows these policies, therefore they are directly involved. According to this guideline, participation in these diversity and inclusion initiatives is mandatory. We all participate. Under this guideline, we train on a recurrent basis and look for improvements to implement in our processes.

We provide fair and equitable opportunities in a balanced way, but with the aim of maintaining Primax’s high standards and management. For us, it is important to focus on core aspects such as the company’s values, its corporate identity and consistency in D&I practice. We hope to have significant changes, to learn from failures and to find more and better ways to have better continuity in this respect.