What are the key projects you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

I have had the privilege of representing Latin America on the global team implementing a contract lifecycle management (CLM) tool. This initiative is designed to simplify the contracting process globally by standardising workflows, improving traceability, and delivering time efficiencies and financial savings.

I am also part of the team responsible for navigating changes to negotiation and contracting models with the government and Colombian EPS entities, driven by reforms to the Colombian health system.

Can you describe an instance where your legal advice directly influenced business strategy or commercial objectives?

Legal advice directly influences business strategy when the legal team understands the business’ priorities and connects them to a clear corporate risk map showing practical consequences, such as reputational harm, revenue loss, or competitive impact. When legal is seen as an ally and business partner, the business is more likely to incorporate legal risk into its analysis, commercial strategy and key decision-making.

What key trends should in-house counsel be monitoring over the coming months?

The global political environment generates a lot of uncertainty, which is why all in-house teams must be very attentive to legal changes in legal systems that impact the businesses. Other interesting topics include competition risks within the framework of ESG or greenwashing agreements and privacy & cybersecurity vs AI.

How has the role of general counsel evolved, and what are the most important attributes for the modern in-house lawyer?

From my experience, the key attributes of a modern in-house lawyer are: capacity to influence; legal judgment; commercial understanding; pragmatism; and trusted relationships with stakeholders.

How can in-house counsel use AI to improve efficiency while maintaining quality, governance and integrity within legal teams?

As part of the new CLM project I am involved in, AI has played a key role in process parameterisation, initial reviews of contract templates, deviation detection and the preparation of executive summaries.

On a day-to-day basis, AI also supports operational tasks such as document comparisons, drafting meeting minutes, preparing executive reports and tracking follow-up actions. By handling these activities, it saves time and enables the in-house legal team to focus on higher-value work that drives business impact. However, final legal opinions and decisions must always remain grounded in the in-house lawyer’s judgment and legal expertise maintaining quality and integrity.