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¿Por qué me haces esto?
Alejandra Briseno remembers shouting the question to her parents in protest when she heard the news. Her father’s employer was transferring him, and the Briseno family would have to leave their native Mexican city of Monterrey to experience life in Varese, Italy.
Before long, Briseno found herself 5,500 miles away from her friends, her extended family, and everything else she had known. While the situation would have been hard for anyone, Briseno’s age made it especially challenging. The young Latina was about to enter high school; she would have to take the courageous step in her new country and culture.
Varese sits between Milan and Italy’s Swiss border, just west of the famed Lake Como. While many dream of visiting the region, Briseno first considered it a nightmare because she didn’t know how she fit into her new surroundings.
What Briseno didn’t see at the time were the advantages and opportunities the move would later bring to her life and career. Exploring the Lombardy region’s mountains and lakes during the week and crisscrossing Europe during the weekends increased her cultural understanding and gave her a global perspective. After about eighteen months, she had mastered Italian, her third language. Perhaps most importantly, life in a foreign country taught Briseno how to cope with uncertainty.
After four years, Briseno was ready for college and decided to make another big transition. She enrolled to study political science at Indiana’s Purdue University. Moving from Italy to Indiana was a huge culture shock that required more adjustment. “At that point I didn’t feel like an Italian, I didn’t feel like an American, and I also didn’t feel like a Mexican, because I had walked away from Mexico during those determining years that shape who you are as a person,” Briseno says. “I was always an in-betweener.”
Upon graduation, she continued on to Michigan State University’s College of Law. While in East Lansing, she reunited with her parents, who had previously moved to the Great Lakes State after another job transfer.
“I didn’t feel like an Italian, I didn’t feel like an American, and I also didn’t feel like a Mexican, because I had walked away from Mexico during those determining years that shape who you are as a person. I was always an in-betweener.”
Alejandra Briseno
When it came time to land that first job, Briseno quickly discovered how she could turn her unique life experience into an asset. After struggling to find the corporate in-house counsel job that she had initially envisioned when she graduated, she found an opening in legal discovery and evidence review that listed one intriguing requirement: Italian fluency. Briseno applied for the job hoping that her unique status as a Michigan lawyer with English and Italian language skills would give her an edge. It did.
That initial evidence review job led her to her next step as a contract attorney at Stellantis f/k/a Fiat Chrysler Automotives. Now, a decade later, Briseno continues to use all aspects of her background, skills, and training as the assistant general counsel at Autoliv, the automotive safety supplier that develops, manufactures, and markets airbags, seatbelts, and steering wheels for major automotive manufacturers globally, as well as mobility safety solutions.
Part of what drew Briseno to Autoliv was its status as the world’s largest automotive safety supplier. “I was looking to join a company with a global footprint where I could connect to the product, and the products Autoliv manufactures can be the difference between life and death for people,” she explains.
As assistant general counsel, Briseno is part of a team of five legal professionals in the Americas who provide advice and counsel to leaders of the organization. Briseno’s role requires a “jack of all trades” skill set as it entails broad knowledge in all areas of law, not only in the US, but also in Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. Briseno advises internal clients on a wide variety of legal issues such as information technology, employment, supply chain, litigation, customs, and other key areas. Strong relationships with external firms help when niche matters arise. Those on the legal team have to keep the overall business in mind when advising their clients. “One simple goal drives us,” says Briseno. “Protecting the interests of the company so we can ensure Autoliv is able to continue delivering safe, high-quality products.”
Not only is the legal team committed to providing timely and accurate advice to their clients, they are also deeply invested in providing essential legal training to the various functional departments within the company. “It’s so important for us to train and empower our internal clients so they understand those basic legal concepts relevant to their areas, that way they feel empowered knowing and understanding how laws can impact their day to day jobs and the overall business,” says Briseno.
“Autoliv has allowed me to reconnect with those roots and make them part of my daily life.”
Alejandra Briseno
Today, Autoliv’s legal team in the Americas happens to be exclusively female. The other women, Briseno says, have been a source of understanding and support during her recent maternity leave, when she gave birth to her first child—a daughter.
While Briseno is committed to passing down her native language and culture at home, she also has a chance to tap into these elements at work. Given Autoliv’s global footprint that includes several facilities in Mexico, Briseno speaks Spanish and interacts with her Latino colleagues on a daily basis. “Unlike other jobs, I’m thankful that this position has given me the chance to reconnect to the culture that I had to leave behind at a pivotal age,” she says. “Autoliv has allowed me to reconnect with those roots and make them part of my daily life, which is something that I hadn’t had the chance to do in decades.”
ZVMLaw PLLC is proud to support Ale Briseno and Autoliv in their commitment to Saving More Lives through automotive safety technology. Thank you for allowing us to be a trusted legal advisor. ZVMLaw is a diverse-owned boutique law firm representing leading global companies in the areas of business law, litigation, intellectual property, and financial services. We combine the sophistication of the country’s top firms with innovative fee structures, diverse talent, and a focus on the client experience.
In an increasingly regulated world, Covington has an exceptional ability to help clients navigate their most complex business problems, deals, and disputes. Our distinctively collaborative culture allows us to be truly one team globally, drawing on the diverse experience of lawyers and advisors across the firm by seamlessly sharing insight and expertise. What sets us apart is our ability to combine the tremendous strength in our litigation, investigations, and corporate practices with deep knowledge of policy and policymakers, and one of the world’s leading regulatory practices. This enables us to create novel solutions to our clients’ toughest problems, successfully try their toughest cases and deliver commercially practical advice of the highest quality.
