40 under Forty 2017 Suplemento 40u40_2017 | Page 5

40 under F orty A wards 2017
Outstanding Achievement (In-House) Awards
Spain: Asier
Crespo, Microsoft
Asier Crespo is
Microsoft’s legal director
for Spain & Portugal.
He has sixteen years of
experience focusing on
IT/IP matters, especially
software, privacy and
cloud computing. He has
worked with customers
in a wide range of
sectors and industries,
including global banks,
healthcare providers,
academic institutions and
government entities. Before joining Microsoft in 2010,
Crespo worked for almost ten years at the Barcelona
office of Uría Menéndez, reaching the position of
senior associate in the IT/IP practice group, with
responsibility for bringing new clients to the firm.
At Microsoft, he has focused on devising legal
mechanisms that ensure customers trust Microsoft’s
cloud services. His role in the company has evolved,
and he has been promoted to become a direct report
to the head of legal for western Europe, as well as
a member of Microsoft’s EU privacy team, which is
responsible for the company’s work related to data
protection matters.
Crespo created a data processing agreement for
Microsoft cloud services, which was reviewed and
approved by the Spanish Data Protection Authority
(AEPD). This agreement provides safeguards for
customers that export their data to the Microsoft
cloud with authorisation from the AEPD. “This
game-changing solution, which provides unparalleled
assurance and provides guarantees on compliance
for our customers was an innovative creation that I
personally envisioned and implemented,” he says.
Crespo has also had significant involvement
with professional associations and, in this respect,
he argues his company has democratised cloud
technology. He says: “Thanks to our agreement with
the Spanish Bar Associations Council (CGAE), every
licensed lawyer in Spain, including sole practitioners
and those working at small law firms, are provided
with a secure email account and other cloud-based
collaboration tools, which would be otherwise
available to large law firms only.”
www.iberianlawyer.com
Portugal: Luis Graça
Rodrigues, Indra
Sistemas Portugal
Luis Graça Rodrigues is
the regional counsel for
Indra Sistemas Portugal.
He started his career in
private practice in 2004
and moved in-house
in 2008 when he joined
the National Authority
for Road Safety (ANSR)
in Portugal as public
procurement counsel.
The contrasting nature
of these roles was good
preparation for handling the challenges posed while
working at Indra, Graça Rodrigues says. “You have to
keep an open mind, learn a little every day and learn
to compromise, always ensuring that the practical
solutions you design respect the company’s policies
and way of doing business,” he explains. “You have
to truly become a global lawyer, both in terms of
geographic coverage and the areas you handle.”
Among his major achievements as a practicing
lawyer has been the creation of the legal department at
Indra Sistemas Portugal from scratch. Some of his key
decisions involved cancelling existing covenants with
local law firms and bringing key legal services in-house,
as well as providing training initiatives to increase
understanding of the legal requirements related to
public procurement procedures and developing risk-
assessment skills among non-legal staff.
Graça Rodrigues work covers a number of
jurisdictions including Portuguese-speaking African
countries in which Indra is developing projects. “As
in-house counsel, I am allowed to get much more
involved in the negotiation process and finding
practical solutions for different problems in different
countries,” he says. Working for a global company
that prioritises social responsibility provide many
opportunities for giving back to the community, both in
Portugal and elsewhere, according to Graça Rodrigues.
“Every lawyer has a social role to play,” he says. “You
cannot forget the origin of the profession, which is to
defend other people.” Graça Rodrigues acts as treasurer
for “Quero-te Muito,” a non-profit organisation with a
mission to develop awareness of the social and cultural
rights of children and young people.
40 under Forty Awards 2017 •
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