Women in Legal Business - Monica Colombera

Monica Colombera heads the Energy and Infrastructure group at Legance, one of Italy’s most prominent independent law firms. Her practice sits at the centre of the decade’s most consequential legal market: the financing, acquisition, and restructuring of energy assets at a moment when the entire European energy system is being rebuilt. Project finance in renewables, M&A in grid infrastructure, regulatory frameworks for energy storage and hydrogen. The transactions her group handles are among the most structurally complex in the Italian market, executed against a regulatory backdrop that is itself in rapid evolution.

That combination of technical complexity and strategic urgency is what defines the practice, and what defines the leadership required to run it.

Looking at your career path, what unique leadership trait has been most instrumental in allowing you to "move the needle" within your organization?

I believe the real leverage has been my commitment not to limit my role to mere technical advice, but to fully understand my clients’ commercial and strategic needs and contribute to risk assessment without adopting an overly formalistic approach.

Reflecting on the past year, what is the most significant positive change you have observed regarding gender equality and female representation within the upper echelons of the Italian legal market?

The number of women in senior leadership positions is increasing every year. We are also seeing more women appointed to in-house General Counsel roles, which is a very positive signal.

How do you personally advocate for the inclusion of more women in high-stakes decision-making?

I am personally strongly convinced that women in leadership position provide a very important added value based on the fact that they provide a different point of view and approach with respect to mail colleagues and partners. Recognition of such difference and value it is the key issue to grant equality.

In a sector historically rooted in traditional structures, what is the single most important cultural shift still required to ensure that the Italian legal business becomes a truly meritocratic environment for the next generation of women?

I think that it is important to evaluate the performance of the next generation of women on the basis of the achievement of specific goal rather then hours spent at work. Flexibility is essential in order not to discriminate.

Success is rarely a solo journey. How has collaboration with other women (in-house or external) influenced your approach to business, and how are you paying that forward within your team?

I have acted as a mentor for a number of young women at University or in the first years of professional carriers. I think that the example is very important and also, I am able to underline differences of the situation that I experiences 15-20 years ago as a woman than the situation that they are leaving.