What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The legal team in Portugal provides support to all businesses and corporate divisions of Repsol, one of the top firms in Portugal and a leading exporter in the country.

Within the customer division, the team offers legal assistance in both traditional areas and emerging energy sectors from oil and gas stations to the retail of solar power and other customer-centric projects. Due to digital and energy transition, there is a growing demand for legal support in these upcoming areas.

In the industrial division, the legal team supports the daily operations of Repsol Industrial Complex in Sines. Over the past year, they have provided significant legal support for the complex’s expansion and transformation project. This involved the construction of two new plants – which will produce high-value and 100% recyclable polymeric materials for the pharmaceutical, automotive and food industries. With an investment of €657m, this project is one of the largest industrial ventures in Portugal in the past decade.

Alongside the corporate compliance team in Madrid, the Portuguese legal team was recently involved in establishing new local corporate areas, such as the corporate functions of data protection officer and compliance officer.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

We are amidst a significant digital revolution that will profoundly impact our lives in the years to come. As legal teams, we are continuously adapting to digitalisation and reassessing our working processes for enhanced efficiency. We are also ceasing or altering tasks that due not inherently add value whenever necessary.

The upcoming major challenge for in-house legal teams lies in the realm of artificial intelligence, and I am genuinely excited about the potential of new technologies in this field. I firmly believe that AI will play a pivotal role in areas where we are already engaged, such as standardising and managing our legal precedents. However, it will undoubtedly pose a considerable challenge in terms of aligning our critical and commercial judgment when approaching specific legal issues. From a purely legal standpoint, it will also be intriguing to observe the role and implications of AI in decision-making processes, as well as the legal consequences that may arise from using these novel technologies with new regulations.

Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change within their organisations?

I am incredibly passionate about driving change processes and consider myself fortunate to have my team actively participating in this historic moment at Repsol. We have the unique opportunity to engage in a wide array of projects within the energy transition. Repsol stands as one of the pioneering energy companies worldwide, having committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This has paved the way for exciting work and projects.

As in-house lawyers, we are deeply involved in all facets of this revolution, affording us a comprehensive perspective in most cases. It is crucial for us to be prepared to assume a more significant role as dynamic business partners within the decision-making process instead of playing a more traditional advisory role.

As we live in a fast-paced world today, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Steve Jobs once remarked that while he may not like lawyers, he genuinely appreciates the way they think. This statement underscores the indispensable role that lawyers can play in organisations, particularly in the present era. As lawyers, we possess a distinct mode of thinking and approach each task with a unique methodology.

As in-house lawyers, we have the opportunity to function as business partners, which enables us to develop a profound understanding of the company’s operations and establish a passionate connection to the projects we engage in.

In today’s increasingly intricate world, it is imperative for us to maintain a critical and problem-solving mindset to discover innovative and secure solutions. We should approach our work with enthusiasm and a spirit of enjoyment, consistently striving to think creatively and deliver valuable contributions to our organisations.