How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

When facing a crisis, it is important to be aware that while the situation will pass, the consequences of making decisions without legal support could extend this period. Hence, I find it necessary to include the legal team in defining the principles that will guide decisions during the crisis (which must be aligned with the business need); and the step-by-step strategy to follow before the crisis.

The participation of the legal team during this planning is key to being able to evaluate whether proposed actions are in accordance with the law. Careful and joint planning helps a lot in this type of situation. Likewise, if new situations arise during the crisis that require decision-making, having clearly defined principles on which the decision must be based leads to quicker decision making.

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?

I strongly believe that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is essential in any legal department. The multiple points of view that a diverse team can provide regarding the same situation is a plus when giving legal advice, and helps to identify situations that a homogeneous team would often not be able to understand so easily.

We have implemented several diversity initiatives: we hold specific meetings with our suppliers’ DEI committee to know about their policies and commitments and thus be able to validate that we share the same concern and interest in this issue; we attend to different tasks with a diverse team to with the advantage of a varied perspective; and implemented remote work within the legal team in order to seek a better balance between work and personal life. Also, as legal team we aim to incorporate other initiatives to promote DEI in the organisation and the local legal market.