Major legal advisers: Lloreda Camacho

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?

The creation of play books has been a significant achievement that has improved how the team works; it provided a sense of purpose and commitment to the team and heightened the visibility of the legal team.

Finding recurrent issues and documenting them in a play book that is easy to access, read, understand, and train on its use, and proposing tools to manage day to day legal activities has been seen as an innovation.

Although it required a time investment it was a great opportunity collaborate with other areas within the organisation, reshape existing processes and take advantage of new existing technologies within the organisation.

From the internal client perspective, empowerment and accountability has been one of the wins in the process.

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

Technology, particularly artificial intelligence, is already changing the way we work, but we expect tremendous changes in the next five years – a change that even some consider as a new era.

Legal operations departments in many companies have taken important steps to solve day-to-day needs, such as the preparation and review of contracts, attention of recurring consultations, and the management of files and databases. For that reason, our role as advisors and our strategic contribution, will be our most important function. We must be agile, promote and embrace modern technologies, and constantly review our contributions.

What steps do you take to ensure the successful integration and adoption of new technologies among your team members?

Keeping the team aware of the adoption of new technologies and showing their advantages, supporting creativity and innovation, being open to leaving routine tasks and promoting strategic thinking. Change management would be always an excellent tool to adopt new technologies that impact not only legal team members but internal clients within our organisations.

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

During the pandemic, the industry was obliged to implement rapid technological changes. Consequently, digital apps, social listening, omnichannel communications with key stakeholders, telemedicine, and the innovation in supply chains have been important trends. In-house lawyers have played an essential role in the implementation and sustainability of those changes, not only for legal, but also from the business conduct perspective.

The investigation and development of new products, value-based price of medicines, and sophisticated agreements with commercial customers will become major trends in coming years.

What is a cause, business-related or otherwise, you are passionate about, and why?

The pharma industry is very close to my heart. I had the opportunity to watch my amazing sister that was born with HIV, grow into a beautiful, intelligent, loved, and healthy woman. Hence, I am passionate about working towards a better world for patients. Working for the pharmaceutical industry during the last 12 years, has changed my life, and my purpose and passion increases every day.