Team size: 13

What are the projects that you are most proud of working on over the past 12 months?

I am proud to have participated, along with the data ops and legal ops areas, in the development of a repository with corporate information and documents, designed for use by different areas of the company, such as compliance, finance, human resources, and sales. With this repository, we have enabled these areas to self-manage the information they need for their daily tasks, thereby reducing the workload of repetitive tasks for the company’s corporate legal area and making the work of the areas that require these documents and information more agile. Currently, we have plans to automate certificates of incumbency and shareholder certificates, which we currently do manually. The idea is that in the future, they can be automatically generated by the people or areas that need them.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

For me, it’s key to identify the potential risks that the company could face and to design several plan options to address these risks in case they materialise. In other words, for me, the key is to have a proactive approach in these types of situations, in order to avoid the risk from materialising at all costs, or if it does materialise, to ensure it has the least possible impact on the company’s operations. I also think it’s essential to work closely with the different areas of the company and set clear deadlines, and in the most complicated cases, to organise meetings with external experts and invite all the areas involved.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?

My current job has been a very enriching and interesting experience, as it’s the first time I’ve worked for a multinational company. As a result, I don’t only handle tasks for Ecuador, but for all the countries where the company operates, which allows me to learn about the law in other countries in the region. Furthermore, working closely and on a daily basis with people from other countries is very enriching not only professionally, but also culturally.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

An in-house lawyer, apart from knowing about law and legislation, must know about the company’s business. They must understand the company’s business very well, and its industry. Ultimately, in addition to being a counsellor and an advisor, they must be business partners.