What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Corporate restructuring involved various entities of the group in different jurisdictions in Latin America, the execution of mergers and reorganisation processes, and the acquisition of retail businesses in Chile, as well as providing legal advice for the execution and implementation of its activities, which have been increasing in the last period (including during the pandemic).

Furthermore, we have driven the spin-off of the agro-veterinary unit of the industrial business in Peru to another group company dedicated to the formulation and marketing of pesticides and fertilisers, in order to consolidate activities and processes in a more efficient, competitive and specialised manner.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

The pandemic has brought many challenges. It was a priority to maintain a close connection with everyone and to quickly develop new ways of communication and efficient working dynamics among ourselves and with our internal customers. I had to ensure that our legal area effectively exercised its role in a complex and unpredictable context, with a lot of changing regulations and in which more and more flexibility was required.

Moreover, in such a situation, it became even more crucial to anticipate and mitigate the different legal risks and to guarantee the due diligence of the organisation.

What are some of the key developments – legal, geopolitical or otherwise – that have affected your business over the past year?

Business in Latin America is impacted by the legal, regulatory, economic and political context of each jurisdiction. Adding to the social conflicts in the region, the global situation, especially with the war in Ukraine, inflation, and the lack of availability of some raw materials has had a huge impact.

There have been many unpredictable and changing regulations to which we were exposed: in Peru, different regulations are passed and amended every day. This was very challenging and enriching from a professional point of view, given that the interpretations of new regulations are sometimes diverse or uncertain, and decisions had to be taken very quickly in order to affect as little as possible the companies’ activities, while ensuring safety and compliance as a priority.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

There are technological tools, such as platforms for digital signatures, legal document management, legal search engines, chatbots and compliance management systems, which are already being used and which will be used with greater force and sophistication, contributing to making the work of companies’ legal areas more efficient and dynamic. Notwithstanding the above, in-house lawyers should maintain an essential role as they have both special characteristics and knowledge that can address the legal challenges of the businesses.