Could you tell us a little about the key projects that your team has been working on in the past two years?

Last year, we closed a few portfolio acquisitions worldwide. We were also able to raise a new fund named fund three, from the pension funds which sets the scene for the next cycle of acquisitions in our company. We worked with the financial team and engaged the law firm Creel, to raise these funds. This was a huge project for our company because these funds that are used for our projects in Mexico.

Given the pandemic and all the uncertainty worldwide, it was a challenge to accomplish because the investors were hesitant. However, they were convinced eventually, due to our great record of accomplishment as this is our third fund with them. This was also the first fund we managed ourselves, compared to the past when we partnered with Walton Street Capital. We have managed to invest almost 50% of that fund now, which is an impressive performance exceeding all expectations.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel impact the role of in-house counsel?

Digitalisation is one of the first advancements that comes to mind. Due to the pandemic and distance from colleagues, we have made exceptionally good progress in digitalising documents and executing them digitally as well. For example, now there are no contracts we execute without the use of technology. Furthermore, they are acceptable documents by the courts in the event of litigation.

The other advancement is the use of the ‘cloud’. Uploading documents to the cloud, as opposed to having them on our computers or even local servers, is immensely helpful because we can share them easily with external users and retain control of them. We are in the process of digitalising all our documents amassed over 44 years, which is no easy feat.

In which ways do you see in-house counsel evolving over the next few years?

I have been with this company for 20 years, and I have observed that the role of in-house counsel is progressing in a way that involves us in strategic decisions of the company. We do not only prepare or negotiate documents, but our opinion is considered for most decisions, because by preventing risk, the company saves money. I believe businesspeople have understood that having a good legal team saves a lot of headaches for the company, so the in-house legal role is growing accordingly.

We also have tried to keep a lot of matters in-house to reduce costs. This has resulted in the legal team growing to support all our tasks. We still use external help, but we can afford to be selective about what we send to them, and we can rely on them for.

What skills would you say a corporate legal team needs to survive in the modern in-house industry?

They need to be open-minded and proactive, especially in those companies where there is a lot of competition. It is also important to be business oriented and pay attention to the business’ needs. When in-house counsel manages to do that, they can give good advice and close the transaction in a practical fashion. There are some counsel that stick with their arguments, no matter what, and that has jeopardised a lot of deals. Therefore, it is prudent to understand the minimum things you need to cover and understand that losing an argument over things which may not matter may cost you and your company the entire deal.