How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?
The pandemic has changed the work of the in-house counsel. Now they need to incorporate new skills that are required to handle technological tools, as well as the need to develop soft skills to deal with situations of daily work, such as flexibility and willingness to change. In addition to all that, the pandemic has brought stressful situations, so the in-house lawyer had to have emotional fortitude to be able to face them.
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
My legal team has worked in the legal aspects of cases related to the sale of assets and infrastructure, sale of goods and services, customer service, intellectual property, and business to business matters related to the world of telecommunications.
In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?
Over time, and given the experience of the pandemic, for in-house counsel, not only the technical legal aspect of their work will be important; but also, lawyers must be trained and prepared to deal with aspects related to management of modern technologies, handling of new skills such as resilience and learning to face the uncertainty that the future brings in the dynamics of the world market.
How important have “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill been to the team’s success, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess?
It is absolutely important to develop soft skills such as empathy with internal clients — the ability to put ourselves in their place of our client in order to understand the problem and give a correct solution, something crucial when providing our service. This has been the main soft skill that has given our team the tools to achieve the success of our internal client.
