Team size: 25

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?

Throughout the last few years, and as a result of the pandemic, the demand for medicines and medical supplies increased exponentially, triggering a bang in the industry. Laboratorios Pisa, as one of the most relevant pharmaceutical companies in Latin America, especially in Mexico, saw a considerable increase in its business relationships, which in turn, led to a rise in requests for numerous contracts from our internal clients.

This phenomenon pressured our legal structure to a degree where we saw a need to innovate processes focused on optimising our services as to channel the workload in the most efficient manner possible. Subsequently, we committed to the following: i) updating contract management policies in order to draft and execute said instruments quickly, without causing detriment to the quality of these; ii) creating specialised work positions and hiring contract lawyers; iii) hiring external law firms, and integrating them into our processes in an organic fashion and; iv) hiring an innovative technology system from an external provider whose objective is to manage contract processes, with which we looked to have more control over said processes, and with which our internal clients could easily follow up on the status of the contracts requested to be reviewed by our legal department. We achieved better performance while promptly complying with the corresponding expectations from all of the Group’s areas.

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

Without question, Artificial Intelligence will be a crucial tool for all legal departments, and in general, should significantly reduce costs and legal fees. I believe said technology will bring about efficient support to our in-house lawyers and with the passage of time, should be more reliable.

It is important to clarify that such technology will not substitute the need for law firms and would only be used for a handful of rather copious and “simple” tasks that are not crucial for the company. An attorney would be needed to oversee responses and interpret them and oversee all possible angles and its applicability.

Mexico is known for its extensive network of international trade agreements. How would you navigate the complex legal requirements associated with cross-border transactions, considering the changing trade dynamics and regulations in Mexico?

This phenomenon is so vast and complex, more so when related to highly regulated industries such as the pharmaceutical industry. The feasible solution, as of some years ago, has been to divide our internal services through jurisdictions by creating auxiliary offices in the US by hiring American law firms and investing in production plants in said country, solidifying business over there, complying always with that country’s legislation and avoiding risks associated with a potential instability from other countries.

In Mexico, we have drug production lines focused exclusively on international markets, whereby certain finished products are only commercialised internationally, and therefore rigorously comply with the authorities’ regulations in these countries and adhere to trade agreements. In that context, “minor” reforms, and changes in the criteria of the Mexican regulatory authorities, do not have a major impact for our international markets. The structure’s efficiency and fluidity is such that all changes to the law are analysed on a case-by-case basis, methodically, without any sense of urgency, however always foreseeing to adapt operations satisfactorily.