What strategies do you employ to ensure your legal advice is effectively aligned with the unique regulatory environments and cultural nuances of different LATAM countries?

Firstly, listen and adapt. For example, in some cases of contractual negotiations, the counterparty does not seek a dissertation supported by law and jurisprudence on why a particular clause is not acceptable, but rather acknowledgement of a different position, understanding of the reasons behind such, and openness to find a common ground as a compromise. Many purely legal issues are in practice solved in a 1:1 conversation, and normally does not involve the degree of technicality we’re used to seeing in Europe.

Additionally, while nothing exempts from needing to have a solid knowledge of the case at stake and connected matters, formality is also important. At least in my experience, cordiality, understanding and flexibility (insofar as the matter allows it) are crucial in achieving the desired outcomes and, on some occasions, these prevail over purely technical legal argumentation and knowledge.

Lastly, an appropriate choice of local partner. It’s hard to impossible to become an expert in local laws. Therefore, local lawyer(s) play a crucial role in chaperoning business plans and legal implications thereof.

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?

Considering the maturity of some regulatory aspects (for example, nonexistence of criminal responsibilities of companies in some markets) and lack of homogeneity, it sometimes becomes challenging to perform a cross-border action. Our mission for the following months is to implement a baseline level of compliance requestable in every country, even if local laws do not consider this mandatory. This action is currently focused on data protection and traditional compliance (anti-bribery, AML, etc.) due to expertise in GDPR, CCPA and related data protection regulations, as well as UK Bribery Act 2010, French Loi Sapin or US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but is likely to expand and include other key areas.

What specific challenges have you encountered when managing legal issues related to Latin American markets from a European perspective, and how has your team addressed these challenges?

Considering the fragmentation of the Latam regulatory landscape, it is complicated to design, implement and keep a unique approach that can be applicable in every country, as there are requirements that may not only be different but even opposite in some countries. In addition to that, when doing business in Latam, local customs and cultural differences with Europe must be considered, and ultimately reflected both in legal communication with internal and external stakeholders and drafting, review and negotiation of contracts. When pursuing a switch to a more formal ways of doing business, e.g. from verbal agreements to written, vetted contracts, you might expect some pushback from relevant teams; in some cases, this can even provoke loss of trust (“why do we have to do this now if we have been working in a different manner?”) One way of explaining this is a lower degree of enforcement by relevant authorities.