What are the most significant cases or projects you have been recently involved in?

We have been engaged in several public tenders in Latin America. For example, in Argentina we have a lot of public tenders for soccer stadiums while in Brazil we have several for offices and industrial facilities of big companies. In North Latin America, we just finished the El Dorado airport in Colombia as well as the Tocumen Airport in Panama while in Mexico several public tenders for the new airport and roads are being handled by the legal team as well as mergers and liquidation of companies.

During the past year all the lawyers in the clusters had to work to mitigate the risk of closing, due to the pandemic, as well as maintain operations so our finances would not be impacted. It is complicated to deal with all areas of the legal functions, but we have been able to keep litigation, corporate governance, and projects in line. Digitalisation, commitment, and passion have been key in all projects which represent high income impact to the business.

What do you think are the biggest risks facing your industry at the moment and how are you preparing your company and team to face these risks?

Since the government is spending money on public health rather than public infrastructure, our industry could experience a standstill, as our main business is public lighting and infrastructure. It happened in 2020 and somewhat in 2021 too, so even though the industry is opening again, we potentially face a new wave of Covid that could result in another nationwide lockdown. The legal team was responsible for preventing the halt of production, and so carried out many filings so we were considered an essential industry to keep producing material. We successfully did this at the start of the pandemic and will do so again if the situation requires it.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Firstly, to understand the business needs and customer needs. During the last year, we have faced a pandemic that has indisputably changed the way companies work. I believe people have noticed that most of the work force is able to do their jobs remotely without any issues of productivity. I believe that in the modern in-house industry it will be necessary to dominate the new technologies that will allow people to work better remotely, as well as soft skills to be able to reach people through these technologies and not only f2f. In terms of laws, it is important that lawyers in this decade also get acquainted with the regulations of technologies and labour law that will include homes as a workspace.