Could you tell us a bit about your significant successes in your role?

As an in-house lawyer, namely as a senior counsel for McKinsey’s operations in Portugal and Spain, my role hugely focuses on providing legal advice to McKinsey consultants in connection with client service. This means I am supporting them throughout the contracting process while mitigating risks and implementing policies for the organisation. However, I think success in a role is most attained by going beyond your role’s description.

I believe success is highly connected to the ability of bringing your personality and “superpowers” to your work.

Personally, I think that part of my significant successes in my role arose from the positioning myself as a thought partner and by building relations with the office, colleagues and internal/external clients, of course, combined with professional excellence in delivering legal advice and support to the contracting processes.

Being immersed in the life of the organisation is key, not only will it allow you to flow with ease through the organisation but will also allow you to have go-to touch points for support. I never underestimated the amount of support one needs to be successful in an organisation with the dimension and impact like McKinsey, you need a strong foundation of people to be able to grow, explore and be successful – and that requires commitment and initiative.

Also, in my role I regularly interact with people, and people all have different personalities and most importantly have diverse approaches to work. Being able to navigate all these characters and tailoring my services and strategy accordingly, is, in my opinion, a crucial skill that differentiates a successful lawyer.

In your opinion, what are the qualities and skills needed to form a strong legal team?

I believe, that first and foremost, real team bonding is “the” factor in creating a strong team. It is essential that team members trust and support each other for the team to operate as a team.

Recognising the fundamental importance of teamwork, I firmly believe in investing efforts to genuinely understand and connect with my colleagues. This approach not only fosters meaningful human connections but also allows us to leverage each other’s unique strengths and address individual development needs, similarly to the way an organised sports team operates.

Individual traits should be identified and compensated for (this can range from analytical proficiency to attention to detail, to being able to have a relaxed attitude in a fast-paced environment). Using a sports analogy: just like some are better at defence rather than offence, knowing your team members’ unique capabilities enables you to optimize their contributions, foster individual growth and allowing each member to shine. Additionally, this approach facilitates addressing specific team needs and compensating for any skill gaps, ensuring a well-rounded and successful collective effort.

What is the biggest risk to your industry/organisation and how are you contributing to prepare your organisation for this?

In my perspective, the biggest risk to the legal industry, and my role within McKinsey, is the very rapid “digitalisation” and advancement of what constitutes legal work.

While AI and digital aids have and surely will continue to bring numerous benefits to legal services, it also poses a big risk of losing the human element and the specialisation of legal expertise.

While the rapid advancements in AI and technology present an uncertain future, I firmly believe that embracing transformation is crucial. Although the ever-evolving landscape may make it challenging to fully prepare for what lies ahead, as lawyers and individuals, we must proactively make efforts to stay engaged, curious, and committed to continuous learning. With stagnation being an untenable choice, it is imperative to maintain momentum and ensure that we remain adaptable and open to the changes brought about by technological, social and human advancement.

As an organisation, it is crucial to embrace the digitalisation of the legal function while simultaneously ensuring that it remains specialised and human-centric. This translates into investing in technology to assist and facilitate legal work and ensuring that lawyers receive ongoing training and professional development opportunities – both are already very well-known and applied approaches. As lawyers, I think we all are aware that it is not enough to “pass law school” or “pass the bar exam”, you need constant learning and improvement to practice law proficiently, and, the more law is connected to technology, the more dynamic we need to be.

What challenges have you overcome to get to the position you are in today?

I think one of the biggest challenges I have faced is navigating the vast range of career options available in the legal field.

As a recently certified lawyer, I struggled to determine not only the area of law that I wanted to pursue, but also the position I wanted to steer my career into. I initially worked in a law firm (while studying for a position in prosecution public), and then transitioned to International Relations, all before joining McKinsey & Company.

Through these experiences, I was able explore different areas of law, undertake different roles, shoulder distinct responsibilities and develop a deeper awareness of my strengths, skills, interests and overall available opportunities. Above all, these experiences allowed me to forge my own path.

Ultimately, these experiences helped me find my passion for global organisations and allowing me to now “make my own McKinsey”.