Team size: Three

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

In recent years and as one of the main pillars of its strategic plan, McDonald’s Portugal has been developing an intense and accelerated process of expanding its presence in Portugal.

The legal department has been one of the crucial partners in the implementation and execution of this plan and the objectives defined by the brand, both internationally and nationally, having provided legal support to around 60 real estate operations in the last year, commercial and corporate.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry? 

First, an in-house lawyer will be successful only if they know the strategic objectives of the organisation in which they work and if, based on these objectives, they can define their action priorities. It is essential that you know, in detail, how the organization you are part of, identify with its business culture and be aware of the specificities of the respective sector of activity.

Only this in-depth knowledge will allow you to make a correct assessment of the topics you are monitoring, manage the respective risk and present legally robust solutions. I also consider it essential that an in-house lawyer is able to identify very well which topics can be internalised and those for which specialised advice should be sought, and it is essential to maintain a practical spirit, whether in direct management of issues or in managing them. in partnership with external advisors.

Furthermore, I consider that the success of an in-house lawyer also depends on their ability to communicate in a clear and uncomplicated way and their mental agility to tackle several projects simultaneously in a context of constant change.

How have you fostered a closer collaboration between the legal department and your business counterparts?

For my team and I to do good work and be valued by our internal customers and external stakeholders, it is essential to create and nurture a relationship of trust. This is only possible by maintaining a continuous, clear and collaborative dialogue. Be available to work as a team and, in this way, contribute and think innovatively in the search for solutions (often alternative or never explored before). Thinking and acting in true partnership and as one team has been essential for remaining close to our partners.

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

Not being sure if we can call it a cause, I would say that one of my daily ambitions involves trying to find a balance between my professional and personal life, aligning my actions with my principles, values ​​and order of priorities. If super men and super women only exist in fiction, for me a skilled professional is one who can deliver results by acting ethically and without sacrificing or completely abandoning other areas of their life. Sometimes this forces us to change the way we work and manage various issues (professional or personal) and adopt new habits and discipline. The search for this balance, not always easy, is undoubtedly one of the most important points on my list of objectives.