What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

My legal team has been involved in several cases and transactions recently.

We have been driving the legal due diligence of the acquisition of “Aseguradora-de-Créditos-y-Garantías”, one of the leading Argentine surety insurance firms, in 2022.

Additionally, we have had a key role in the public offering and implementation of the first ESG-focused trust in Argentina under the “Bono SVS” designation, which raised $85m, in 2021.

The legal department also worked on the constitution of the legal structure of the “Fideicomiso-Financiero-Proyecto-VIDA”, which financed the construction of a state-of-the-art biotechnology plant during the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2021.

Additionally, we produced the legal documentation supporting the issuance of bonds to the public market for Laboratorios Richmond, allowing the firm to issue up to $50m, in 2020. Moreover, we developed corporate contracts and proceedings to promote the expansion of Richmond across Latin America: Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Mexico. The expansion process included acquisitions locally and abroad, the creation of corporate contracts and agreements; the process started in 2017 and it is on-going.

The legal team has represented the four parties involved in Latin America’s first cross kidney donation transplant, and after obtaining the judicial authorisation the case successfully led to the modification of Argentine law 27.447, now referred as “Ley-Justina”.

Lastly, we have acted as the sole legal attorney and successfully obtained three important sentences that in turn, enacted the subsequent change of jurisprudential precedents used by the Supreme Court of the Argentine National Justice.

As we enter the next decade, what do you think the in-house lawyer of the future will look like?

I envision that in the next decade, in-house lawyers will have to have developed a multidisciplinary approach and deep understanding of the core areas of the firm – in fact, we are already seeing an increased number of multidisciplinary legal roles become essential to the exploitation of daily operations. Our department is becoming an integral part of many firms, and as it does, it will have to become an area open to interactions with all other departments.

Another aspect for the future in-house lawyer is the use of new technology and the resources which new technology gives place to. From pharmaceutical to media companies, legal disputes require more knowledge and even extensive maneuverability, thus technology can be utilised to rapidly identify possible solutions.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

To establish business relationships, lawyers should adopt a transversal attitude, acting not only as legal experts, but also as advisors and mediators. We often seek the benefit of all parties involved in disputes and to do so, it is essential to have a deep understanding of the panorama, understand where each party is coming from and be able to develop strategies that have impact.

As a natural mediator, a key attribute of an in-house lawyer is empathy. It allows us to have a deep understanding of the conflict, and allows us to hold meaningful interactions across the new models of virtual meetings.