Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

IBM has deployed a large set of tools to simplify mechanical and administrative procedures and allow Legal department members to focus on substantial matters that require further knowledge and expertise.

This has helped us optimise the processes such as ‘Know Your Party’ within the compliance programme the company has implemented, proposals approval that currently managed under engage support systems that collect and keep approvals and deviations from standard terms; data base repositories to store information, concepts, legal opinions mail etc. All these tools allow lawyers to save time and be able to focus on those matters that have a significant impact to the business and demand further work, using them, we were able to implement IBM Colombia compliance and ethics program, by leveraging the gaps we identified in our internal procedures and made the company compliant with law’s requirement at no extra cost.

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?

Artificial Intelligence regulation will be a challenge for the in-house counsel, especially in two fronts: regulations and ethics when using it. This technology can redefine the way work is done and will imply a challenge for lawyers and in house counsels. I believe it will be the opportunity for Counsels to show how expertise, business knowledge and technical skills will be key to complement the way legal work is done.

The regulation of AI aims to establish some rules of the game, knowing that there are specific parameters for its use and development, without stopping innovation.

Companies such as IBM, which has spent decades developing AI for companies, speak of some basic principles for the ethical management of this technology: fairness, robustness, transparency and privacy. It is essential to ensure that AI recommendations or decisions are fully transparent, allowing companies to audit the models and associated training data. That is the basis of the AI regulations that are being discussed around the world.

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in Colombia?

Even though Colombia is not a very mature market, there are several things impacting the way doing business specially in the IT sector, one is Artificial Intelligence that has made a huge impact over media, but its practical and business use is still under development, this is complemented by the constant regulation data privacy is having and legal developments on this front are not minor.

Another main trend is compliance, especially in a convulsion country such as our integrity and transparency have become a main topic when doing business specially under the effort to have more global relationships with other countries and markets.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

I feel grateful and lucky to be able to work in a company such as IBM, that has an incredible diversity culture and that have been pioneer on this since years ago and legal department is no exception to it, our department has embraced diversity from a wider perspective, allowing employees to enroll in different courses and trainings, to embrace diversity as part of its corporate culture.

From a personal point of view, I have been able to share my personal experience with neurodiversity, to share some knowledge about the matter but also to sensibilize the team about something that has become natural nowadays.

Diversity and inclusion are in IBM’s DNA. We strongly believe that diverse and inclusive teams can develop more complete solutions and, most importantly, inspire dynamic innovation where we all feel equal.