Team size: 10

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved the way your legal team works and did not come at a huge cost?

During the Covid- 19 pandemic, the company had to face several changes and adapt to the new reality. We developed a legal strategy that was put in place to mitigate the impact of managements’ plan at the time, which was to cut costs to ensure the company’s survival.

The legal management acted in the suspension of contract execution, conciliations, mediations with suppliers, subscription of payment plans with international and local suppliers. Likewise, the dismissal of personnel not essential to the operation of the company was carried out on very good terms, with a success rate of over 95%, an achievement that has substantially reduced the rate of judicial action against us.

In terms of innovation, we have an IT Management system in place for the control of contracts, permits, authorisations, processing deadlines, immediate attention to requirements within the company and its branches abroad. Thus, achieving efficiency in the legal advice provided to the technical area of our operation and proactive control of the changes to which we have been adapting as a company.

What are some of the key developments that have affected your business over the past year?

Let us start from the fact that an analysis of reality must be carried out. There is an ex-ante cut-off, taking the COVID 19 pandemic as a starting point, and an ex-post cut-off. In the ex-post scenario, the global aviation industry has undergone many changes and considerable damage.

Many airlines have gone bankrupt, and the harmful effects have lasted until today. In the case of Bolivia, the market has been growing from the perspective of passengers transported, because of people’s need to move from one place to another, but on the economic and governmental side there have been no plans or measures to accompany the industry’s gradual recovery. Nor has there been relief provided to allow us to make good on past obligations or the new ones that are generated every day.

The company has also had to face the transfer of one hundred percent of its share capital to the Nella Group, in which many policies have been applied to safeguard the company and continue its operations in the delicate post-covid situation. We are now in a stabilisation process in which operational safety is the priority.

How do you think the internal legal role will evolve in the coming years?

The legal area in any company is fundamental, even more so in a company that provides national and international transport services for passengers, cargo, and mail. By providing a comprehensive service to the company, it becomes unquestionably essential, since, in addition to being a legal department specialised in aeronautical law, corporate law and economic law, the in-house team also provides comprehensive legal advice from the technical and operational aspects. Thus, the legal role is a key element for the structure of the company and its proper functioning, so in the coming years, the support of the legal department is absolutely essential.

Do you use any legal technology products and, if so, for what areas of your work do you find them most useful?

In relation to the answer to the first question, the legal area has its own database as well as the support of our IT Department. In relation to accounting and reservation systems, we utilise systems such as REVERA, AMADEUS and all their support platforms.