About

Since joining the global clean energy solutions provider Pacific Hydro as a legal manager in Chile in 2015, Oscar Lira Valdes has had a transformative effect on the company’s internal legal function. In addition to establishing interdisciplinary committees to deal with issues from across the company, Lira states he has developed a strict internal compliance policy and trained lawyers within the team to ‘solve problems from a business perspective’. Besides Lira, whose practice extends to insurance and corporate affairs, the team includes Fernanda Errázuriz, a regulatory lawyer who is said to possess excellent understanding of electricity law, and is currently helping design a strategy for legal cases presented in courts. Fernanda Correa, a corporate lawyer and a recent addition to the team, who has previously worked at the law firm Cariola, receives praise for her expertise in PPA, commercial and electricity contracts. Boasting an excellent transactional track record in the last two years, the team has recently been able to get over a US$24m claim, which has required Lira to relocate to London temporarily for four months. In addition, the team has recently impressed with its work on two separate due diligence processes in Chile, as well as its involvement in the acquisition of a 1.7GW hydro plant in Brazil. ‘Together, while I was away and when we are together we are a highly dynamic team, adaptable to every situation,’ Lira articulates. ‘As so, we move across the organisation having always in mind that we are a business and our efforts are set to fulfill it’.