Team size: Five

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

The team I lead within Itaú Chile could be divided mainly into two matters: the management of all existing and potential litigation related to the bank’s operations, including criminal, civil, commercial, and labour cases, and the main collection procedures for clients in financial difficulties, including insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings. Regarding the first matter, I coordinated the bank’s legal defence in a multi-million-dollar dispute with a Chilean entity where I managed many different types of proceedings. Within the second set of matters, we have participated in several Chapter 11 proceedings.

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?

It is especially important to work with external lawyers who align with our company’s values. We consider them our partners, an extension of our legal team and our work, so they must share our values and ethics. For instance, one of our core values as a company is that ethics is non-negotiable, so our external lawyers know that any behaviour contrary to that principle is inexcusable and would affect our relationship severely. A desirable law firm must understand our organisational structure, our core principles, and our risk tolerance.

What are some of the main legislative or regulatory changes that have impacted you?

During the last few years, one of the most relevant regulatory changes that has affected the Chilean banking industry is the modification of the regulation on electronic fraud liability. This legal modification has had a significant impact on the industry, not only because of internal organisational issues, but also because it causes tensions in the client-bank relationship. Another important legal modification whose impact remains to be seen is the new law that systematises economic crimes, environmental crimes, and extends the criminal liability of legal entities.