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

Over the past year we have been particularly active in the energy sector, mainly in the commercialisation of electrical energy and natural gas to private consumers and companies, the generation of electrical energy through renewable sources and other value-added products and services related to our core business (such as energy solutions and mobility services). We would like to highlight our consolidation as second-biggest operator in the electricity commercialisation market in Portugal – to which we provide support from a regulatory, contractual, compliance and data protection point of view – and our win of two tenders regarding the generation of electrical energy through renewable sources, one by the use of floating solar energy and another regarding the Pego fair transition tender, with a project that combines the hybridisation of renewable sources and their storage in what will become the largest battery in Europe, and incorporates social and economic development initiatives.

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

We believe the best response to this question is that, unlike external lawyers, in-house lawyers have a daily interaction with all business and accessory departments of their organisations and, considering the evermore importance of legal, regulatory and compliance aspects, are given an important venue that may be used drive change.

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?

From our point of view, the main skill that a corporate legal team needs in order to succeed in the modern in-house industry is to be able to understand, to the best degree possible, the business or technical side of a given industry. This involves being fully open to listen and learn from the internal counterparties and understanding that the best advice can only be given once the practical business, technical or commercial aspects of a particular topic or transaction are fully understood. Additionally, there is also the important skill of being able to expose ones’ thoughts and considerations, whether orally or in writing, in a clear and understandable manner.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

Through trust and a great technical knowledge of the tasks at hand of the business partners. Particularly in a highly regulated sector as the energy one, where a great number of the business decisions need to take into account the complex and extensive legal and regulatory framework, it is required for in-house lawyer to be in full knowledge of all norms and regulations that may have an impact in the commercial side and be able to filter and explain the norms and regulations that may be relevant for a given decision.

The unusual business environment created by the pandemic has been swiftly followed by other shocks. Are you now putting more emphasis on preparing for the unforeseen and, if so, what does this entail?

Clearly, the pandemic (and all that followed) required an additional emphasis in preparing for unforeseen events that may impact business decisions. To this effect, even more than before, it has been made compulsory that a full-on review of all tasks or decisions, considering not only regular events, but also events, actions or omissions that may have a relevant impact, and take them into account on all tasks and decisions.