Team size: 11  
Major legal advisers: Latham & Watkins  
 
What is the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?  
 
Evertec has been involved in two major transactions in the past 18 months that have transformed the company for the better. These deals required a lot of legal support from team members on top of their day-to-day responsibilities. The main challenge during this time was keeping the team motivated to continue performing high-quality work on all fronts despite the demanding circumstances. I focused on aligning everyone toward the same corporate goals. Despite the notable increase in workload, this approach was a success, the team felt that they were a part of something bigger than what was immediately in front of them. When the deals were finally announced, the team knew that they were key contributors to these major milestones, and therefore, were able to loudly celebrate the company’s accomplishments.  
 
Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  
 
General counsel are constantly trying to maximise their resources and efficiency in a business world that is becoming increasingly complex. In the past year, we have focused our efforts on evaluating existing processes that affect our contracting times, with the goal of improving the experience for both internal and external customers and freeing up time for our in-house lawyers to take on additional work. By involving different divisions of the company, we mapped out and challenged every single step in the contracting process from beginning to end. As a result, we eliminated several unnecessary steps and will employ automation in others within our contract management software and our ERP. We expect that this will save considerable time for our attorneys and provide better overall service to stakeholders in 2024. Every time I hear someone say, “we’ve been doing it that way for years,” I insist on challenging why that is.  
 
What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?  
 
I think that a strong business sense, creative problem–solving and strategic thinking are the two most important requirements for general counsel and senior in-house counsel. First, you must be a partner of the business. This requires understanding the business’s short- and long-term goals, P&Ls, KPIs, and, most importantly, any emerging issues. This way, you can meet their needs, minimise risks, and improve efficiency. Lawyers who are disconnected from their internal clients are not nearly as successful, or efficient, as those who feel a part of the businesses they support. Second, creative problem-solving and strategic thinking are fundamental. Any decent lawyer can review a contract or help with a partnership agreement or with any other legal matters that come up. However, great lawyers can do that and more. They can create value in negotiations where others see only roadblocks. They find options to achieve goals when others say it is not possible. They assume risk when the potential rewards merit it, but they also raise the alarm when the opposite is true. They focus on the big picture while paying attention to the details. These are the types of lawyers you want in your organisation.