Team size: Five

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

During periods of instability and crisis, companies typically adjust their business strategy to mitigate the impact on previously established sales targets. This is a critical time when legal management, particularly the management of legal risks, becomes more important, as companies’ risk appetite may increase, leading to potential risks of sanctions and contractual breaches.

In my experience, it has been crucial for the general counsel to be part of the Boards and committees where significant changes in the company’s activities and operations are discussed during these periods. This ensures that the sales objectives of the business strategy align with the identified legal risks. While collaborating hand in hand with commercial management is always important, it becomes essential during times of instability or crisis.

In this context, the use of innovative tools such as Canvas Legal can significantly help align legal strategy with business strategy and fortify the company by organising and managing all its legal risks.

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?

Undoubtedly, generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived to revolutionise the legal sector. With the advent of AI, the legal industry is undergoing significant changes that impact the reduction of time, predictability, and operational efficiencies for law firms and in-house lawyers.

Some key applications include: (i) Analysis of contracts and legal documents; (ii) Legal precedent search and analysis; (iii) Legal outcome prediction (through the analysis of historical data and legal patterns); (iv) Legal document automation; (v) Research and due diligence (compliance); (vi) Data-driven legal advice (providing more precise recommendations by analysing laws and regulations); (vii) Project management and scheduling.

In the legal area that I lead, we have been successfully implementing generative AI in all our internal processes through a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software.

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently?

Currently in Peru, there are three trends that are noteworthy. Firstly, compliance, there is an accelerated implementation of prevention programmes in companies across all sectors and sizes, particularly in medium and large enterprises.

Second, there is a trend among companies to understand the application of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, and the value that their implementation would generate. Many of these criteria are being developed by the country’s banking entities, and companies are taking note of the effects on banks.

Furthermore, the professionalisation of Independent Directors. There is a clear and marked trend towards improving the governance of corporate and family businesses, as well as adopting principles of good corporate governance. Noteworthy is the development of a market of professional independent directors that did not exist in the country before.