Team size: 18

LATAM countries your role covers: All countries in Latin America

What are the most significant cases and transactions in the LATAM region that you or your legal team have recently been involved in?

Specifically in Latin America, there are two levels of complexity to tackle. On the one hand, countries where the company is present with an affiliate legal entity, with dedicated local staff; and on the other hand, some countries where business is run via distributors (mostly Central America and the Caribbean, plus small markets like Bolivia and Paraguay). An increased level of scrutiny is needed when there is third party cooperation (contract management, prevention of corruption, for example).

We are also focusing heavily on antitrust matters as we see an increasing enforcement trend from the authorities. Additionally, being a global company headquartered in Germany, we need to tackle the difficulties of our subsidiaries being bound by German or European legislation, such as general data protection regulations, singular anti money laundering regulations, German supply chain act, among others. As Latin America is a lower regulated jurisdiction, remaining compliant without creating competitive disadvantages is really a challenge.

Finally, focus on cost efficiency when it comes to engaging outside counsels is also a topic to follow up.

What are your organisations plans in the LATAM region over the next 12 months and how will your legal expertise help to achieve these plans?

Our focus is always on creating good and safe conditions for the business by securing an appropriate risk management which includes periodic risk profiling of our legal entities, considering the regulatory environment where they operate.

How do you adapt your legal counselling to align with the diverse business practices and customs of various LATAM countries?

Our counselling needs to of course, consider the business reality of each jurisdiction. However, the business needs to also understand that for a global company there are many flexibilities that are not possible even when legal or not required in the respective jurisdiction. A good example is data protection regulations which are quite exigent in Europe and almost non-existent in some Latin American countries. To adapt legal entities in those jurisdictions to an increased level of requirements is really a challenge. Here, planning, proper communication, and awareness of the business is a key factor.