Team size: Four

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

The most recent and important case that we are currently handling is a title nullity process for a piece of land located in the city of Manta, valued at US$2m. This process occurs because of irregularities in the Municipality in different years. It is an action against the counterparty, seeking to withdraw the ownership that they possess, regularising the cadastral numbers and reports within the entities in which the information of this property rests (municipality, property registry, banks, etc.).

The interesting about this process are the strategies that must be used to achieve the desired purpose, which leads us to involve experts in different areas such as an architects, civil engineers, registered experts, photographers who operate drones, heavy machinery personnel, analysts urban and more people that we have to involve to obtain the necessary proof and documentation that probe our thesis.

Additionally, as an in-house lawyer, I had to collect information on events since 1966, to support the history of the land domain, search for old reports and request relevant documentation from many Government Institutions. Like all cases that are already in the legal area of a company, other internal areas are commonly involved; In this case, several areas are mixed, which forces us to maintain constant and effective teamwork to achieve the objectives.

I have been involved in several areas such as projects, sales, accounting and even the financial area of the company, which helps us analyse the constant losses and even the strategies to follow in case of a negative result of this action. This teamwork strengthens the probability of its success, which I have been implementing in the company for a few years.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

Diverzu, that I am currently working for, is a company that has a board of directors, they are very open to change but being cared for; this has allowed us to work together to implement policies and regulations based on the most important value in an organisation that is integrity. Integrity is a value that in my opinion encompasses all the necessary qualities in one, so working with external lawyers who are honest and transparent is essential. On several occasions we have reconsidered hiring based not only on results but also on the values demonstrated in the execution of the work for the Company.

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?

The invisible alliance between law and technology has an extremely positive impact today. Technological advances are essential in any legal team, be it internal or external. I believe that those more noticeable mark are those advances that allow automated processes and that improve data collection in less time, this will facilitate the preparation and even decision-making about business and investments.

In the future, glimpsing the legal paradigm shift that Blockchain technology has brought as an infrastructure for data storage or quantum computers that will facilitate research or even thinking of robots that can automate processes so that they are 100% perfect according to the legislation, will be incredible.

In my case, I have implemented some technological advances, but the one that has been most useful to me as an in-house lawyer is Case tracking, it`s not only a friendly tool, but it is also complete and replaces several repetitive activities that allow me to optimise my team’s time.

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

Internal lawyers are an axis that allows the passage of information to the company’s Management, we are even the ones who, based on our criteria, classify information as “more” important than another. This position allows us to give criteria based on the law and its relevance, which will lead the organisation towards a legally “cleaner” result. Driving change within organisations is easier for internal lawyers than for any other advisor, since we spend our time only for a business group or specific company, giving us a global vision of its needs.

In general, what would you like to see change about the external law firms you use? Examples could be greater flexibility in billing, a more expansive suite of services offered, more transparency in reporting ESG statistics etc.

The reports that external lawyers must issue constantly lack transparency, even in percentages of probability. It would be wise for the studios to use a tool that issues an automated and real-time report on the status of the processes and their impulses.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

The commercial area is essential in an organisation, without products there are no sales, if there are no sales, there is no company. The legal area must be totally committed to preparing contracts, agreements, conventions, and even emails, always supporting business development, taking care to legally protect the company, without neglecting the commercial objective.