Team size: Circa 40

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

The most important and complex challenge I have faced as an in-house lawyer over the last year has not been related to business, legal or financial circumstances, not even the search for qualified individuals. It is about people management. When our challenges are focused on the wellbeing of our members, there are no easy ways.

I can certainly say that the post-pandemic work environment and the new era of digitalisation, remote culture and demanding deadlines can bring interesting challenges for legal leaders. In my experience on founding and establishing the largest growing and fully remote in-house legal team in Guatemala, one of the most important challenges has not only been on how to find the right resources or even train them up, how we can grow or develop a team that promotes trust while meeting stakeholders’ demands, but also managing human relationships because, whether we see it or not, they have a direct effect on company culture.

We need to understand that the legal profession is no longer just about providing legal counseling services or giving legal advice; lawyers are now at the core of an organisation’s strategy and as such we need to become business leaders and advocates on behalf of our people.

In which ways have you attempted to bring the legal department closer to your business colleagues?

Historically, the legal department and business partners have been perceived as opposites, which has led to unhealthy relationships between its members. The legal department has traditionally been perceived as focused on compliance, while the business units are focused on transactions and innovation.

As an in-house legal manager, I have been able to see, first-hand, the challenges and opportunities faced by the organisation. While the challenges are obvious, there are also opportunities that we can explore to improve our processes and make them more efficient. I have been strategically focused on ways to improve legal’s relationships with business stakeholders, by educating and empowering members of my legal team on the need to focus on the issues that create real impact and change the course of a transaction, rather than wasting time on issues that don’t really matter. To achieve this relationship, I havee contributed to promoting a new culture where both lawyers and business stakeholders feel supported and empowered, making sure that they all feel like they have a voice. If, as legal managers, we do not listen to our employees’ concerns and ideas then they won’t be able to implement any changes that will benefit everyone involved. This is a good starting point in order to promote healthy and effective relationships between legal members and business stakeholders.