Team size: Four lawyers and two administrative assistants

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

Zurich Ecuador´s legal team includes lawyers who have been working for the company for an average of ten years and who possess ample experience and technical knowledge. Their expertise, legal counselling, and active participation is required in helping define the procedures that are necessary to achieving the local strategy in the short and medium term.

Going further, these qualities play a great role in multi-jurisdictional and global legal projects of great importance for the organisation that, besides being a complex task that often demands the coexistence of different time zones and different languages, requires long hours of dedication gathering information, research, analysis and preparation of deliverables for which, almost always, there is a deadline that extends beyond the working day. These projects may be, for example, mergers and acquisitions which, even when they do not materialise, constitute an enriching practical exercise for the team leaders and an invaluable development opportunity for the less experienced.

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?

Choosing to work with external lawyers who align with the company’s values is extremely important. External counsel must not only know the business, the organisation’s objectives and the market in which it operates, but must also be perfectly aligned with the company’s institutional and ethical values. This is the key to the success or failure of the relationship. As useful and practical as their legal advice may be, an untarnished reputation governed by correct ethical practices with zero tolerance to any deviation is paramount.

Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change in their organizations?

In-house lawyers are knowledgeable about the company’s operation and business, and the laws that govern them. Because of that the company trusts them to produce quick responses to internal consultations, thus becoming true advisors to the business, who not only make legal decisions, but also execute them.

In addition, they are better informed when it comes to making a decision because without neglecting applicable law, they can issue an expert opinion on the relevance of a particular business; measure counterparty risks; contribute to the construction of solid business relationships; and share their outlook with those responsible for the business so that decisions are made in an informed and conscious manner. In fact, in-house lawyers are so skilled in the business that, if necessary, they could replace employees from other areas.

If existent, can you talk about you or your company’s efforts relating to renewability, sustainability or other environmentally friendly activities?

Being responsible for regulatory compliance, regulatory risk and as guardian of shareholders’ interests, the legal department of Zurich Seguros Ecuador strives to make sure that ESG factors are not neglected by the business.

Our efforts contribute to the compliance of Zurich’s sustainability strategy in Ecuador, which is based on the pillars of sustainability with people, sustainability with the customer and sustainability with the planet. Specifically, the legal department contributes to the timely identification of new laws and regulations that could impact the business so as not to compromise our company’s objective, which includes creating a brighter future together.