What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

My team is responsible for all legal matters in 48 countries and territories spread across Central America, the Caribbean, Andean region and the South Cone. This means, all LatAm, except for Mexico and Brazil. Throughout the pandemic, our team successfully managed the constant legal changes in our countries, helping maintain our operations up and running as an essential business, connecting businesses and opportunities during these difficult times. We are very proud to have played a key role in enabling the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines throughout our region over the past 18 months, successfully resolving legal and regulatory issues in numerous jurisdictions, in record time.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

We are more inclined to choose law firms that align with our culture and values. For example, we value our law firm’s involvement in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as this is a priority for FedEx. We love to see our local advisors promote equity in their workplace and truly enjoy working with diverse teams when we interact with them. We also place high value on our advisor’s ethics and compliance programs, and this is undoubtedly a key element when selecting new outside counsel. One element that I also consider very important is how they demonstrate their commitment to their communities and to giving back.

If you have worked in other countries, what are the main challenges unique to operating as an in-house counsel in your current location?

Miami is, without a doubt, the capital of Latin America and the city gives you a regional perspective that is hard to achieve from any other location. Prior to joining FedEx, I practiced at top law firms in Bogota, Colombia, where I could experience being on the other side of the table. As in-house counsel in Miami, working for a large multinational, the breadth of legal matters you can interact with is second to none. On any regular day, you jump from working on an employment matter in the Caribbean, to reviewing a contractual issue in South America and later discussing global projects with peers in other regions of the world. I like to say that we, as regional counsel, also become cultural translators, learning to effectively manage and communicate complex legal issues in Latin American countries to our global headquarters and to our leadership, and bridging the gaps between different cultures, languages and legal systems.