What key projects have you and your legal team worked on recently?
The first project we worked had to do with electronic signatures, which had been available in Mexico for a while but not widely implemented. Only a few companies had implemented it, but in 2019, as a technological company we went down this avenue despite resistance, along with a great partner to design a system for this. It was a steep learning curve for the team but paid off remarkably when the pandemic began, and people could not sign things physically anymore. We moved from 30% to 98% of agreements being executed digitally. It has been one of the great successes of the legal department, and I do not see things returning to the way they were before. There is not much precedent concerning electronic signatures, so we are hopeful that the courts will accept electronic signatures.

We also implemented a chatbot, which can find legal documents and offer guidance or boilerplate templates for new agreements. With this chatbot, we have reduced response time and been able to address clients’ needs all 24/7. More companies are looking to implement technology like this, and I would endorse this. But just like with all technology, companies will need to tread carefully. It has some cons like the distance from the business it could cause, which is not ideal since closeness to business partners and clients is necessary. Technology like this is also important, because as much as the legal department may be friendly and approachable, some people prefer not to engage us. In instances like this, the tools are there to help.

Which recent political, economic or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

We have had a few changes that have impacted the company such as the labour law reform and tax reform to curtail outsourcing, and so called “factureras”. In response to this, we have undergone a restructure to a vast majority of our operation in Mexico. I have been through quite a few reforms in my career, but this has been the most challenging to implement, especially as there were no clear guidelines. There has been a lot of room for interpretation, resulting in us joining heads with our partners and advisors from the labour side and the tax side as well.
Another law that also impacted us was the so called “agency law”. The intention of this law seems in order, but we face the challenge again of interpretation. The law seeks to regulate bad practices with astronomical penalties. The spirit of this law is quite far removed from the reality of technological companies in Mexico, especially the ones providing programmatic services. It will be a challenge to implement and comply especially with our move into digital media, but it will be remarkably interesting to watch pan out.