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

As a consequence of the measures put in place to face the effects of the post-Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, companies have confided some of their operational strategies to the legal departments as a viable and safe alternative. Examples of these new challenges include managing the areas such as compliance, ESG or data privacy. This management can be temporary or permanent.

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

There is no profession as well as economic sector or industry that has not been impacted (positively or negatively) by the new technologies provided by AI, led by ChatGPT and Google Bard.

Legal teams have also had to adapt to this new digital revolution. Even though it is true that the Covid-19 pandemic brought important advances in terms of innovation and automation of technological tools, they do not compare to the challenge that AI has represented for the legal services. AI is here to stay; therefore, the in-house legal teams must have a clear expression of effective investment in technology and innovation.

The legal teams should be prepared to adopt this tool and use it for their own advantage and implement it as an ally, instead of assuming that the AI will take over the legal affairs. The AI will provide unimaginable opportunities such as increase the team’s performance and generate process automation, which will translate into cost reduction. Under this context, the development and training in data science has become a necessity for organisations and therefore, a skill that legal teams should explore, know and implement in their daily responsibilities to accompany or guide projects that demand the AI.

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

In general terms, the main concern is that there has been no progress in Latin America regarding the reduction and fight against corruption. The latent risk of corruption, which is present in most economic sectors, is a great challenge and a factor that should call organisations to reflect, banishing practices that contribute to acts of bribery.

A frontal fight against corruption will allow companies to generate a positive impact on corporate reputation, as well as transparency of processes, reducing the legal risk and fines as a result of efficient compliance programs and showing a high level of commitment with ethical and integrity practices.