An interview with Luis Graca Rodrigues, Head of Legal Department/Regional Legal Director at Indra/Minsait in Italy.
How would you describe the state of the GC Community in your region?
I would say that it tends to be a dynamic community, but with different rhythms in each of the countries that make up the region that I coordinate: for example, in Italy it is very dynamic and has several discussion forums that are much larger than in Portugal. In Spain there is a very positive transition towards the creation of forums and events for in-house lawyers and GCs.
How has it changed since you first moved in-house?
In Central/Southern Europe we can safely say that the community has evolved significantly over the last 20 years. From a community whose members didn’t communicate with each other outside of work meetings, we moved on to a community that now has forums and points for networking and training.
Why is expanding your network important to you? What kinds of connections or discussions would be most valuable to you?
The two main reasons are clearly (i) networking, insofar as it enables us to get to know the market and also to understand how our colleagues are tackling problems or issues that are common to the GC/In-house Lawyers community, and (ii) the possibility of finding offers of technical training and in soft skills specific to the sector.
What do you want to achieve by collaborating with other GCs and senior in-house lawyers? Are there specific topics, challenges, or experiences you’d like to share or learn more about?
A network of contacts with whom you can exchange ideas, experiences with law firms, ways of tackling challenges common to different companies and a view of the state of the market in terms of career content, progression and remuneration.
