What has been the number one challenge that impacted you the most during the past year?

One of the greatest challenges has been the legislative, political, and social situation of the past year, combined with the context of climatic phenomena that specifically aggravated the situation, particularly in Peru. It may appear that regulatory or legal issues are somewhat distant, but the truth is that they closely align with the business. Therefore, all these factors have an impact on the performance and challenges faced by the organisation. Consequently, our guidance and support also become more challenging regarding our advice. We have businesses within the group that are industrial in nature, serving clients from various sectors or regions of the country. Consequently, fulfilling obligations and meeting deadlines becomes more complicated.

As a second example, our business also involves selling products for optimising agricultural crop performance. In the context of the phenomena experienced in the past year or months it has required us to adopt different approaches while equally addressing the legal aspects to prevent contingencies. The economic situation and the considerable social unrest and protests have further compounded this.

Undoubtedly, it has been a challenging year for overall operations and conducting business. We had to adapt and employ different strategies to navigate regulations, react swiftly, maintain agility, and address contingencies, seeking alternative agreements or proposing legal solutions.

Looking ahead, what technological advancements do you think will have a greater impact on the role of in-house legal teams?

It is imminent, and there are already noticeable impacts even without looking too far ahead. Everything is happening at an accelerated pace. Technological integration has always been important, but now it holds even greater importance.

It will be crucial to leverage technology to support legal activities. I do not see it as something negative but instead as an opportunity. It is important to emphasise that it may appear less favourable to lawyers, but that perspective depends on the individual. In today’s world, we constantly exchange vast amounts of information. For instance, from that standpoint, we have tremendous opportunities for data analysis and determining the actions we can take or measures to protect ourselves.

From a statistical perspective, we must better understand what we do, how we do it, the time it takes, and the resources allocated. This critical assessment allows us to identify areas for improvement and make our work more efficient. Protecting information, data, and privacy requires significant focus due to the volume and sensitivity of the information handled within the legal field.

Thankfully, there are excellent software solutions available today. We prefer to be independent from other software and have developed our own in-house solution tailored to our specific needs. We are currently in the phase of evaluating its effectiveness. It will also be necessary for legal teams to be creative because, considering the global situation, costs are likely to increase, and we may only sometimes be able to allocate extensive resources.

What is a cause, related to the business or another type, that concerns you?

External and unfamiliar factors have a significant impact on the overall operations of a business.

Consequently, they also affect the activities and legal departments’ work. Latin American countries such as Ecuador, Chile, and Peru, where we conduct our operations, face daily legislative changes. We must closely follow legal intelligence to stay informed and anticipate potential outcomes.

Sustainability is a cause of concern for all businesses today. Every company is responsible for allocating efforts, resources, and time to its development and committing ourselves to societal engagement through our activities. We are meticulous about compliance issues and environmental matters beyond mere regulatory requirements. As a group, we also provide a legal framework for supporting specific social projects, offering legal assistance as part of our work. We are proud to contribute through our legal expertise to ensure these projects can be pursued and upheld under the law.