How are you harnessing technologies to drive output and efficiency as chief legal officer?

Regarding communication channels, we use Discord, Zoom, Whatsapp and Telegram which allows us to work remotely. As chief legal officer and a mother too, it is very important to make the processes more efficient to allow me time with my daughter and keep the startup one step ahead. On the other hand, the training courses or certifications in which I participate are virtual, which allows me to be in contact with people from all over the world within the reach of a few clicks.

I am lucky enough to work with people who live in other countries or cities, and many times the time difference or the context of remote work is a factor of lag, however planning through tools such as Calendly and Trello were of great help. In terms of storage, we have a web page, and we also use Google Drive.

In relation to the design and elaboration of visual documents, I use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Canva.

What are the most significant cases or projects you have recently been involved in?

Checkapp is a startup in which I am not only chief legal officer but also co-founder. We have been working on it for three years. Every advance is a milestone as it is not only innovative but also exceeded legal protection in many ways.

Between 2019 and 2021 there was an increase in the creation of startups in Bolivia, I attribute that to the time of crisis which many like us, took advantage of, to generate opportunities. At that time, due to the restrictions on movement on the streets, the State found it necessary to adapt to the new virtual reality and gave hope to those who ventured into virtual business models. They enabled the digital signature, which is still a process with legal loopholes but a great advance.

Issues like confidentiality agreements, contemplating aspects of corporate structuring, brand registration and preparation of the terms and conditions document, brokerage contracts are the biggest challenges in which I venture due to the little regulation that exists for this business model in the technological field. We must be very cautious and adapt as best we can to the little legal protection that exists.

What do you predict will be the biggest change to the legal market in Bolivia, over the next few years?

Regarding startups, Bolivia has large legal gaps, especially concerning digitisation. The most important advances in Bolivia will be in terms of data protection and it’s my hope that there will be an update of the legislation on the rights of users and consumers, as well as a specific regulation for technological startups and fiscal determinations.

Those who run the risk of being governed by Bolivian laws are subject to avoiding obstacles and non-compliance that hinder their development. As the first legal designer in Bolivia, one of my greatest desires and goals is to implement legal design so that legal information is more accessible and understandable and, consequently, legal relations are fair, transparent and efficient.

Bolivia is full of excellent professionals who want to generate an impact on a global level, I hope that one of the advances will be greater visibility, scope and adaptability to the contexts of technology and innovation, especially in a field as backward as law.