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

Recently and outside of day-to-day operations, I have had the opportunity to lead three significant transactions, the first related to a corporate reorganisation through which we segregated three patrimonial blocks of three different companies with more than 1500 people involved and constituted a new company today that operates one of the main retail companies in Peru.

The second, also already executed, consisted of a program of retirement for more than 300 personnel which required a legal strategy. The strategy designed was capable of solving the complexity of the existing labor rigidity in Peru, and achieved 100% of its objectives. Finally, the third transaction which is still in process is related to an M&A operation on a business valued at more than $500m, which

I am leading all due diligence and the negotiation of the contract being carried out.

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 changes, and the work of the in-house lawyer was no exception. From operating remotely, relying on digital tools for holding board meetings, to conducting virtual arbitration and judicial hearings, the in-house lawyer has had to, like everyone else, adapt to a new work reality.

The pandemic has also brought with it liquidity and solvency crises to many businesses, forcing legal departments to participate actively by creating mechanisms and structures capable of improving such situations either on the side of the debtor or the creditor.

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

During the past year, companies and in particular the banking business in which I operate, has undergone mainly regulatory changes. The different regulators of banking, consumer and monetary as well as the government and congress have been very actively issuing regulations related to what they understand to be the most convenient way to face the crisis.

However, this is combined with the added difficulty that in many cases the understanding between all these agencies was dissimilar. Financial institutions have had to adapt with enormous agility to these regulations with the complexity of making changes in technological platforms in impossible times.

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

The pandemic has taught us a new way of executing the role of the in-house lawyer, and for the future I believe this role will be further supported by collaborative work platforms both for meetings and for the preparation, review and co-construction of legal documents.

Tools such as Diligent for corporate governance, or others for document management, as well as the massification of contracts and digital signatures will be the standard, and from this more platforms will continue to be developed to benefit the role of the internal lawyer.