What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

I can highlight that there has been an increase in the number of cases with an ESG component, which is something that investors are taking a careful look. This is something quite relevant for them.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team? 

We are learning from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and we read everywhere what is going on with the different tools, with different opportunities and probably there is a lot of value to see there and explore, but at this stage I believe there are too many open questions yet. We are being educated, we are learning and it is clearly a super-fast race, as once you use one of these tools, the process itself is very complex and maybe a bit too broad. 

We agree that technology is critical for our work, which is something we maybe didn’t agree a few years ago, maybe before the pandemic times. So maybe more than focusing on what tools impact our role, I believe we are still at a learning curve to understand the advantages but also the challenges and the risks involved. Watching the media and understanding what has been going with AI tools, I think it’s important to recognise the importance of technology but also understand that we need to measure and understand the risks, before determining which tools we should be using.

Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change in their organisations? 

Besides working at J.P Morgan, I also teach at a local university in Chile and an LL.M. in Guatemala, so I travel once or twice a year there. One of the main discussions we have with our students is exactly this: what is the role of the legal counsel? There is a lot of debate, as the role is not a ‘yes or no’ role, which I know might sound a bit cliché, but there is not one single answer to this question. Today, for me, this role is much more than providing legal advice, it goes far beyond looking at a book or a code, that is the basic for any lawyer who wants to be involved, however that is just a short part of our current role. 

Our industry is super demanding and quick. So, our role transitions with that pace and need, making us a more valuable part of the company, which is something I try to transmit to my LL.M students also. The other piece for being this all-rounded legal adviser is to get involved as much as possible, meaning understanding the business, developing close relationships and trust with your partners – where sometimes personal relations come into play as well -, ultimately to determine what are the drivers of success for the business. 

It is no longer about reviewing agreements, not only raising risks. That’s only a starting point as we need to go far beyond that because the today’s role of an in-house lawyer is trying to have a voice in any possible forum, in any strategic and executive decision within the company.