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 changed the world for good, and thus the way lawyers, particularly in-house lawyers, work. The pandemic has exponentially boosted the use of digital tools, generating a new technological revolution. Digitisation has become an urgent priority. We have had to overcome the so-called ‘physical personalisation’ of services with a digital personalisation of services. Also, the lack of physical travel should not be an impediment to advisory work.

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

In Peru, the impact is basically due to two issues: the pandemic and political turbulence. On the pandemic side, the number of legal norms issued was, in many cases, contradictory and impractical, as a result of the lack of knowledge of how to deal with a situation that is unprecedented in the world. This generated a series of conflicts between workers and employers as well as between clients and suppliers. In many cases, it was necessary to resort to creative remedies to solve the conflict, in others to judicial or arbitration bodies. On the political side, the new regime has an extreme left-wing political tendency and is without professional cadres to govern, resulting in legal and economic instability. It can be said that the country is not falling only thanks to the inertia of the fiscal measures taken in previous years.

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

Artificial Intelligence will affect internal teams, but this will be counterbalanced by other functions that it will also generate. We will have to become stewards of this in order to provide appropriate solutions.