What is your role at Moulis Legal and what was your career progression to get to where you are now?
I'm the marketing, communications, and business development manager at Moulis Legal, and I’ve been with the firm for just over a year. I began my career working as sponsorship manager for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, an annual culinary festival in Miami, after completing a hospitality degree in Switzerland and the States. So, my background is actually hospitality and events, and anyone who knows me will say that is a big part of who I am and how I operate.
I'm all about hosting and relationships, always thinking about how to be of service to others. I guess that’s one of the things that attracted me to Moulis Legal. I remember watching a video before my interview where Danny talks about growing up within the hospitality industry and the service mentality that shaped him – it obviously resonated with me.
And I also have a creative streak. I’m extremely imaginative and curious and those aspects of my personality drew me to experiential marketing, communications, and branding, which is why I pursued a master’s in public relations and marketing. I felt I needed a bit of theory, process and study to pull it together.
For the past 5 or 6 years, I’ve been in the legal sector. At Moulis Legal, the combination of the diverse set of people, the commercial+international component, the practice areas, our global clients, as well as the values of excellence, innovation, and relationships… I seemed to quite naturally fit into this environment.
Where are you from and what ethnicity do you identify with?
I’m from Brazil, born into a family in the Brazilian diplomatic corps. I had a unique upbringing—raised all over the world. When I was born, my parents were living in the Netherlands, and then we moved to places like Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and the US, and then when it was time to go at life on my own, I kept moving, until I got to Australia. So, I’ve always felt like a global citizen.
And I definitely have a little bit of each one of those countries within me. The penchant for the colours and vividness of Africa, the remnants of an American accent, the loudness and energy of Brazilians, the seriousness of the Dutch, the casual way of the Australians.
At my core, I am Brazilian though, because of my family roots. But, yes, there are many layers to that identity because of all the places I’ve lived. It’s those experiences that really shaped my worldview and probably that differentiate me from the typical Brazilian.
Do you believe that culture, traditions, and customs impact the business development and legal space and how so?
Absolutely. Culture, traditions, and customs deeply impact how people interact, both on a personal and a business level. They shape business ethics, decision-making, and how people operate day-to-day. And when it comes to business development, which is all about relationships, these cultural nuances play a huge role. From the way people communicate to their expectations in negotiations, it’s all tied to those underlying traditions and values.
And particularly in the legal space, where you’re essentially dealing with problem-solving a lot of the time, it’s crucial to be empathetic and considerate of the interplay with culture, traditions, and customs.
In your role at Moulis Legal and over your entire career within the legal industry, what challenges have you seen in the diversity space and how do you think we should target this area?
I can only speak for what I have seen in Australia. From what I’ve heard Brazil and probably a lot of countries that have had colonialist history are similar.
I think one of the main challenges is the barrier to entry. In most top-tier firms, where you went to school and who you know often has a such a big influence on your early career. This impacts diversity because if someone comes from a public school or a family with fewer resources, they have to work twice as hard to get the same opportunities as someone with connections, a known name or who’s come from a school. For women, and especially those from ethnic or international backgrounds, the difficulty can be even greater.
To address this, firms need to make a real effort to target underrepresented demographics. Scholarship programs for high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds could be a start. Maybe actively targeting those groups when recruiting?
It’s also important to stop normalising this discourse from which school or socio-economic group you come from. Because it is really easy, when you are surrounded by that, to fall into an elitist way of thinking and an expectation that everyone around you is the same – and it’s a barrier to embracing differences.
With your experience, what does diversity and inclusivity in the workplace mean to you?
To me, diversity and inclusivity mean access and space—space to show up as who you are and be seen for what you bring to the table. It’s about making room for different perspectives and being mindful that everyone responds to things in their own way. It’s about creating an environment that considers those differences in everything we do.
