Thales Portugal wants to use firms that are ethical, innovative and provide good value for money, says general counsel Paulo Lino Martins
Present in Portugal since 1990 France´s Thales Group
provides technological navigational and training products for the
space, aerospace, defence, security and ground transportation
industries. The company – which has a presence in 56
countries and employs more than 60,000 people – generated
total revenues of €14 billion in 2015. The company is heavily
involved in Portugal's passenger transport sector through
Thales Portugal as well as having a 65 per cent stake in software
development company Edisoft, which serves the aerospace and defence
sectors.
Paulo Lino Martins, general counsel at Thales Portugal and Edisoft,
says MLGTS, PLMJ, Esquivel Advogados and PBBR are the firms the
organisation uses in Portugal. "When we require external
know-how in important legal issues, first we get support from the
corporate area to allow us to fine-tune the issues and the
objectives at hand," Lino Martins explains. "Then, we
have a consultation call with the law offices that work with us
– the Thales panel law firms in Portugal – to discuss
the issues, their availability according to our timeframes, their
competence for the specific request and the competitiveness of
their fees."
Lino Martins says the most sought-after qualities in external
counsel are "outstanding expertise, innovation and the
capacity to work together with the company in the sense that the
counsel be engaged with the Thales Group, rather than acting like
an external consultant". Ethics, innovation and a good
"price-quality ratio" are the characteristics the company
values most, he adds. Lino Martins adds that Thales would be
deterred from using any law firm that exhibited unethical
behaviour, or did not listen to the company's requirements and
needs, or was not in line with Thales' core values.
How to add value
"Law firms add value in everything that we are not experts in,
and that goes beyond our day-to-day operations when assisting
us," Lino Martins says. "When an external law firm
reminds us of issues that might impact the future of the
company's operations in a country by a simple reminder mail, or
a new legal framework under discussion that could have a legal
and/or financial impact, then that quality is most
appreciated."
The biggest cause of frustration when using external law firms is
an incapacity to listen, or when they fail to deliver their
services in a high quality and timely manner when asked, according
to Lino Martins. He adds that another frustration is when a firm
simply offers "a pile of paper with several solutions rather
than advice on how to manage a real problem".
Lino Martins says the biggest challenge he faces as an in-house
lawyer is how to improve the company's day-to-day legal support
and, more generally, managing legal issues in an environment of
increasing regulation and uncertainty. "Our aim is for the
legal department to be involved in the company's operations and
to therefore perform as much legal work in-house as possible."
He adds: "I truly believe that, if we [in-house lawyers] are
involved from the very beginning, we will add much more value
across the organisation, not only regarding legal advice, but by
highlighting past experiences and proposing different ways to
tackle difficult issues. We should play a role in education and be
considered a real trusted commercial adviser as well as a legal
adviser." Lino Martins continues: "Raising awareness of
the new legal environment among business leaders, who are under
increasing personal liability for things going wrong, is also
important. The traditional approach of 'that's for the
legal department to worry about' has disappeared, and business
leaders need to be more aware of matters that can affect not only
the company but also them personally – we need to always
consider the long view."
Lino Martins says other challenges include being more
cost-efficient, spending less on external counsel and improving
efficiency by using new tools and technology. In addition, the
company aims to ensure its personnel embody the company's core
values while facing the day-to-day challenges brought by regulatory
issues, such as changes to data protection laws, and new legal
frameworks for public procurement. Lino Martins says the company
also wants to "consolidate Thales' values in our
day-to-day operations, values such as customer trust, our 'One
Thales, One Team' ethic, being accountable and being committed
to excellence, while training our personnel to be
innovative".
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