Team size: Seven
Major legal advisers: Galicia, Chevez, Creel, Cuatrecasas, Pinheiro Neto, Lefosse, Mattos, Machado, DLA, EY, V&E, K&E, Gibson Dunn, Bustamante Fabara

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?

I have gone beyond my legal role. We are in an asset management business which, by definition, is about raising capital, deploying capital, and returning capital. I have been actively involved in all three parts of our field as my legal role allows me to be close to our limited partners. This has given me enormous exposure to M&A and therefore I believe that an in-depth understanding of the business is the best way to approach a successful M&A.

The innovation came from going beyond my comfort zone and immersing myself into the business operations, understanding the engineering of our assets and diving into the financial engineering of our business. Consequently, I believe that a position should not be set in stone or defined by a title, people follow leadership, not a title.

I believe I have played a key role in improving the Mexican and South American market to be more prone to a Rep and Warranty Insurance M&A deals. Also going beyond my comfort zone, I have led all liability insurance transactions in Latin America. When we first used RWI in 2018, no one in Mexico had heard of it, it was the same in Colombia a couple of years ago. Today we have secured almost ten M&A deals in the region, mostly with different advisors and the product today is more widely accepted, streamlining our acquisition process.

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

General counsel (GC) should play a more business-oriented role, understanding their business rather than just understanding the legal rules around them. This will allow them to think creatively and deliver better results.

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in Mexico?

Mexico is booming, the exchange rate is at historic lows, inflation is slowing down, and there is an incredible amount of foreign investment coming into the country, however there are two main risks that I see. Firstly, political, there is a party in power with an extremely aggressive agenda that is not positive for business, they are acting irrationally which makes investment decisions a gamble, we should aim to improve that, and I am optimistic that the next president will maximise this opportunity. Secondly, energy is a significant concern, the government made the wrong decision and deterred private investment in energy for several years. Today the tables have turned, and Mexico’s limited energy cannot meet the demands of the investment coming into the country. This will affect us for years to come.

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?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the new trend, people are worried about their jobs, but lawyers should not be. The way I see it, we have created an amazing workforce that will do the boring part of our job. AI help us clean-up briefs, it will help us find precedents in record time, it will be able to draw a structure diagram or convey an idea beautifully in a PowerPoint presentation. Lawyers will become architects, draw an idea in a post on ChatGPT and then the free construction worker (AI) will shape it into the form the lawyers like.

Will ChatGPT litigate in the Supreme Court, will it be able to negotiate its way out of a complicated contract, will it complain about engaging only in research? – The answer is no, no, and no!