Despite an economic and political environment that has undercurrents of turmoil and uncertainty, including recent recessions and scandal at the presidential level, Argentina remains one of Latin America’s most prosperous and business-friendly economies. A strong industrial base accompanied by rich natural resources and a well-performing labour force has enabled Argentina to become an increasingly global economic powerhouse.
Serving as calming and steering influences amid this background, the in-house lawyer in Argentina has a crucial role to play in the success of businesses and the wider economy. As the country becomes increasingly more attractive to international investors, Argentinian in-house counsel must be well-versed not only in domestic law, but also in the processes of international businesses and regulators.
Encapsulating the move away from the notion of simply being “lawyers” to being considered true business partners, Argentinian in-house counsel are diversifying their responsibilities in several ways. These span a wide variety of business and leadership efforts, in addition to other important functions like compliance and human resources. Such evolution prepares businesses to operate in the most legally compliant and ethical way possible, and advances the interests of not only their company but the Argentinian economy as whole.
The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Argentina has been compiled to help celebrate these achievements, highlighting the premier general counsel and in-house lawyers meeting the high standards for inclusion across a range of criteria. Over several months our experienced researchers consulted both law firm partners and in-house counsel to ascertain those corporate counsel who have provided the most outstanding support and innovative methods of working in the country.
The most important sectors in the Argentinean economy – agriculture, financial services, materials and mining and telecommunications – are all well represented in the final list, but there are general counsel in the list that have provided outstanding and innovative support regardless of their sector.
I would like to express my personal thanks to Baker McKenzie, our sponsor firm for this publication.
A special mention must also be made for the in-house lawyers that took their time to speak to us throughout the process, and for the research team that worked on this GC Powerlist publication, Jamie Rayat and Boris Dechev.
David Burgess
Publishing Director
The Legal 500 Series
