Team size: 13

Major legal advisers: Creel Garcia Cuellar Aiza y Enriquez, Baker McKenzie, Covington and Burling LLP, Davis & Wardwell LLP, Tenet Consultores, Legal Paradox

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

Today, a key responsibility of a general counsel is to bring innovation to the legal department and not just solve legal matters. Together with the team, they must find solutions to internal processes.

When I arrived at the company, I had the idea of using a specific CLM provider which I used in the past. However, due to the company’s unique conditions we decided to look for alternative providers and chose a vendor that allowed significant cost savings. This has been a game changer because the company finally has a CLM process.

Based on this experience, we developed an internal tool to automatise all NDAs at no cost.

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?

The general counsel will use more automated tools to identify risks, anticipate changes to the business, and follow up litigation matters, and will be challenged to identify how best to optimise budgets to satisfy regular expenses. General counsel will experience a different way of interacting with the law firms, where customer service areas to identify opportunities will be further developed and will be required to ask them to maximise the use of technology and artificial intelligence.

How would you assess the impact of new technologies on the legal landscape in Mexico, and what measures would you propose to leverage these technologies while ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations?

New technologies in the legal landscape have finally arrived in Mexico. Although just a few companies introduced the concept of Legal Ops, the use of different tech tools is here to stay. Legal Ops will be a more present concept in the coming years and there will be expectations to hire more tech-savvy professionals.

These technologies must comply with the legal requirements, otherwise it would be counterintuitive to our function. For example, in the digital signature world, new products coming to the market comply with the requirements and those tools will win in the end. Good tech products without compliance are not a real solution.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

Diversity is key for developing our activities. We are obsessed with having different points of view to create better solutions. Our legal leadership team is 60% – 40% women and men, and the entire team is 60% women. In addition, we were pioneers in the company by launching an Interns Program with the main aim of getting law students from diverse backgrounds and schools of law. Finally, our legal team is composed of individuals from four different countries (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and the US).

What is a cause, business-related or otherwise, you are passionate about, and why?

My personal mantra is waking up every morning ready to help others. When Clip approached me two years ago, that mantra perfectly connected with Clips’ mission. The company is the most important case of Mexican financial inclusion. We are helping merchants that in the past faced barriers to accessing the industry, and I am more than happy to collaborate with this mission. That is why I am always willing to do more, dedicate more time to my team to achieve their goals and to our internal customers to give the extra mile and launch impactful products.