Team size: Nine

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

Last year we were constantly searching for the diversification of our portfolio and new opportunities. We had several multifamily projects in our sights that seemed attractive but then needed to advance due to various factors. However, at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, we closed the structuring of the purchase of vehicle shares so that, together with another partner, we could develop our first multifamily project in Peru. It was a complex transaction due to the dates, with tight times, but we could close the transaction and move forward quickly and meet objectives.

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

Technology in recent times has advanced significantly, and it is our role, as lawyers, to be able to include it in our day to day so as not to compete against it but to make it our ally in facilitating various internal processes of the legal function that may be more operative or tedious. In this sense, a company’s lawyer must ensure that they know the business and the law and be open and alert to new technological strategies to cover needs. That said, artificial intelligence is a tremendous technological advancement that can help lawyers automate or simplify writing or research tasks, which consume time and resources but never replace them. Artificial intelligence is a tool that can help us focus more on strategy and less on essential document preparation if used to our advantage. However, we must consider that it is only a tool since it must always be supervised by a lawyer so that errors can be identified. Under no circumstances can we transfer the responsibility for our work to this type of instrument.

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

Gender equality is an issue that is very important to me, which we must, in all societies, communities and companies, highlight and cultivate; since it promotes inclusion and equal opportunities for all people, generating a more rewarding, fair and equitable work environment, where all people can develop their potential to the fullest. Furthermore, gender diversity in the workplace can also enhance creativity and innovation, which can benefit the company’s success. With this, we do not seek to equalise the number of men and women in specific roles or positions or the number of employees in the company but rather seek ‘equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities that should benefit all people, regardless of whether they are men or women’, In this sense, from my company we have already formed the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. We are focused on, beyond the benefits, that women can grow in terms of leadership issues and achieve strategic positions and avoid prejudices or unconscious biases surrounding us. The work began a few years ago, and we have been reinforcing it more and more.