Bolivia 2022
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Asesora legal | Confederation of Private Entrepreneurs of Bolivia (CEPB)
Gerente legal and legal compliance manager | Praxair
Director nacional asuntos corporativos y legales | CervecerÃa Boliviana Nacional
Asesor legal | CompañÃa Boliviana de EnergÃa Eléctrica (Cobee)
Gerente asuntos legales | Embotelladoras Bolivianas Unidas (EMBOL)
Legal manager | Telefónica Celular de Bolivia
Sub gerente legal y de cumplimiento | Brinks Bolivia
Legal manager | Empresa de Telecomunicaciones Nuevatel PCS de Bolivia (VIVA)
Business manager | Indatta (Grupo SofÃa)
Gerente legal | Grupo Empresarial de Inversiones Nacional Vida
National Corporate Manager Legal Advice | Alianza Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros
Sub gerente nacional legal | Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (SOBOCE)
Corporate lawyer | China Railway Construction Corporation International Sucursal Bolivia
The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Bolivia 2022 was a delightful project to be a part of, particularly as it marks the first of its kind in Bolivia. This publication excellently captures the theme of innovation, resilience and adaptation among the leading legal counsel across all industries in Bolivia. These counsel gladly shared their organisational objectives, successes, and challenges over the past few years with us. Among the remarkable stories shared, there was a general sentiment on how greatly their teams and organisations had been impacted by sustained crises, specifically alluding to political and economic hardships.
Despite the unprecedented time of Covid-19 and the aftermath that each country globally is facing individually, the general outlook among all participants was one of keeping motivation through crises. Had there been a decided theme to this edition, it would be one which effectively encapsulates how tenacious leading legal professionals in Bolivia have been. They have remained steadfast providing legal advice and positively transforming the cultures of their team and organisations through noteworthy determination and remarkable leadership.
In-house counsel in the maiden edition of this publication describe the last few years to be riddled with ‘moments of great political and social turbulence and uncertainty occurring due to a civil strike and city lockdown that lasted 21 days’. Following this, there was no exception to political and economic implications as well. Regardless, many more counsel shared exciting projects they innovatively led their companies through, such as the launch of new products, expansion of business and smart management of legal resources. Counsel also shared how much their usual tasks had changed, referring to how their organisations had required them to widen their scope of work and be a contributing voice to business decisions. Several counsel note that this is a welcome change and one which has decisively expanded their day to day work. One counsel aptly describes this as, ‘no day being boring or the same as another, as supporting the challenges that a company faces in Bolivia makes us vigilant and on top of legal and political changes.’
Organisations in Bolivia can rest assured that in-house counsel are well prepared to face tasks head-on. Many stories were shared about how to revive and sustain the organisations they worked with against a transformative background such as what exists now. Succinctly put by another counsel, his plan for his team is that ‘all must maintain constant training in the laws and trends within their sector, and even with other sectors that today seem to be very distant but might become more relevant with technological advances.’
Some in-house lawyers reported their concerns with the lack of legal framework on particular hot topics globally, such as ESG among others, and how they are prioritising navigating their organisations towards a sustainable future. One general counsel depicts the state of play as, ‘many regulations do not incorporate the necessary tools to achieve environmentally friendly objectives and to become a more sustainable institution, in Bolivia. For that reason, legislative initiatives must be generated to complement existing regulations or create new law….as in-house lawyers, we need to create legal structures that allow us to advance towards these objectives.’
We are glad to have such an esteemed list of leading legal professionals actively participate in this publication. It was such a pleasure to hear their highlights in their line of work and encapsulate their motivation in this publication. Tonight, they join hundreds of legal professionals globally located, in being recognized as top in-house counsel within their jurisdiction. Congratulations to all the brilliant, innovative leading in-house counsel of The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Bolivia 2022!
PPO is proud to sponsor and host the first GC Powerlist: Bolivia.
At PPO, we value leadership skills, collegiality and a strong commitment to quality and professionalism within the market, and, of course, in companies’ legal departments.
Therefore, with great pleasure we congratulate the GCs listed in the GC Powerlist: Bolivia, the world’s foremost legal directory for general counsel (GCs).
Bolivian companies require GCs with a strong combination of academic skills and business awareness. GCs that possess such skills make strong contributions that improve their employers’ competitiveness and profitability. Their advice mitigates contingencies, solves existing problems, and identifies opportunities put forward by a constantly developing world.
In the past two years, we have worked side-by-side with Bolivian GCs, who have had a remarkable role in overcoming a long list of difficulties posed by new legislation resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and a political and social crisis. In this period, GCs have been required to make strategic decisions, showing a great degree of resilience, finding solutions, and paving the way for their companies to navigate through a challenging and uncertain business environment.
PPO works closely with GCs and legal departments based in Bolivia and abroad. Our clients’ challenges and opportunities motivate and urge us to constantly innovate and seek ways to improve our services.
Our team has a broad understanding of the marketplace, trends and business climate. We quickly adapt to today’s increasingly changing environment, thanks to our in-depth understanding of laws and regulations.
We deliver innovative solutions to meet clients’ needs by leveraging our specialized teams across multiple practice areas. Our professionals provide the insight, innovation, resources and experience to meet the challenges of doing business in Bolivia.
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’
