Team size: four

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

The mining sector is highly affected by external situations. The challenges that have faced our company in the last two years concern the continuity of our business during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent crisis in freight transport. Our legal department ensured that the company operated following the sanitary, economic, and legal limitations applied by the authorities. Recently, a newly elected government has proposed critical legislative changes for the mining sector — a new mining law, an act on water, and directions on territorial planning. Our operations are sensitive and scrutinised by public media. The company must maintain effective communication with the community leaders and the rest of the society stakeholders, in one of the most challenging tasks of the legal team.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

The in-house lawyer is constantly increasing its importance within the organisation. There has been a shift from having a purely consultative role to revesting the role of guidance in management areas. The general counsel holds a prominent role in terms of the company’s strategic direction, focusing on the analysis of potential risks that could have impacts on business plans and objectives and on the decision-making process. Additionally, it will not be long before we can expect the in-house team to rely increasingly on technology to be able to run errands in a short time frame and focus on more demanding business tasks.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected the company and the team’s priorities?

The Dominican Republic, located at the heart of the Caribbean, is highly vulnerable to impacts derived from climate change. Our company takes the matter very seriously and has taken responsibility for extracting non-renewable natural resources and continuing our commitment to a better world for future generations. We are also extensively engaged in the sustainability over time of our operations. CORMIDON has been awarded as one of the leading organisations in environmental management. During the past two years, we managed to deliver neutral carbon operations and become part of the “Carbon Neutral Now” initiative, launched by the UNFCCC, and part of the Dominican Republic steering committee of the Arise Network, which is the private sector stakeholder group for the UNISDR, committing to create risk-resilient societies by energising the private sector to achieve the outcomes and goals of the Sendai Framework.