Focus on the role of in-house lawyers in an era of dramatic changes and epic challenges

Until 2019, we all thought that the legal profession was facing enormous changes and challenges due to the digital revolution that started in the early days of the century with the so called .com companies; this was accelerated the last decade because of the dominance exercised by the FAGA companies, the Big Four of technology, Facebook (now Meta), Amazon, Google (now Alphabet) and Apple.

Nevertheless, the Covid-19 pandemic made the changes and challenges even more dramatic, urgent, and exponential. Legal counsel, especially in-house ones, had to adopt overnight ways of working counterintuitive. Even the judiciary all around the world was forced to adopt new ways of delivering justice and, at the same time, having to flex their previous approach to the due process of law. Lockdowns were all around the globe, but at the same time the new normal mandate assumed that the show must go on, business as usual but via Zoom, with sanitary masks and social distance.

We as legal counsel were crucial in order to provide the legal advice required to adapt to the new circumstances, putting aside most of our professional bias and old ways to work; and we should be proud of the outcome. Clearly, the technology was a key ally, but lawyers, especially those who work inside companies, provided the proper and timely legal advice that allowed millions of companies and business to continue operating during the pandemic, despite death, illness, and lockdowns.

And once we believed that the worst of the pandemic was already over, war in Ukraine erupted producing additional pains and challenges that may last at least a couple of years.

Chilean in-house lawyers have been facing an additional challenge: the social unrest that took place in October of 2019 and the Constitutional Process that was adopted as a way to solve that crisis, and this is still pending. The outcome of such process may also imply a lot of energy, creativity and flexibility for Chilean lawyers, since great changes and challenges will take place during the next year as a consequence of it. Those with greater capacities to adapt will succeed.

Nevertheless, the Covid-19 pandemic made the changes and challenges even more dramatic, urgent, and exponential. Legal counsel, especially in-house ones, had to adopt overnight ways of working counterintuitive. Even the judiciary all around the world was forced to adopt new ways of delivering justice and, at the same time, having to flex their previous approach to the due process of law. Lockdowns were all around the globe, but at the same time the new normal mandate assumed that the show must go on, business as usual but via Zoom, with sanitary masks and social distance.

We as legal counsel were crucial in order to provide the legal advice required to adapt to the new circumstances, putting aside most of our professional bias and old ways to work; and we should be proud of the outcome. Clearly, the technology was a key ally, but lawyers, especially those who work inside companies, provided the proper and timely legal advice that allowed millions of companies and business to continue operating during the pandemic, despite death, illness, and lockdowns.

And once we believed that the worst of the pandemic was already over, war in Ukraine erupted producing additional pains and challenges that may last at least a couple of years.

Chilean in-house lawyers have been facing an additional challenge: the social unrest that took place in October of 2019 and the Constitutional Process that was adopted as a way to solve that crisis, and this is still pending. The outcome of such process may also imply a lot of energy, creativity and flexibility for Chilean lawyers, since great changes and challenges will take place during the next year as a consequence of it. Those with greater capacities to adapt will succeed.