In the 1990s, Chile was Latin America’s fastest-growing economy, gained a reputation of being the region’s best managed country and embraced democracy. Impressive growth followed well into the new millennium due to the changes implemented by the country’s policymakers, helping to develop stronger institutions and new industries. However, the country has experienced an economic downturn since 2015 due to a fall in the global price of copper, Chile’s biggest export. Despite this, the country’s economic growth is predicted to strengthen in 2018 according the OECD, due to an improving external demand for domestic goods which will accelerate growth by creating more fertile conditions for investment. The 2014 re-election of President Michelle Bachelet, who was widely credited for helping guide Chile through the global economic crisis in her first spell, adds to the optimism of businesses in overcoming the current downturn.
Away from its vast copper mining operations, the country is also a strong producer of gold, silver, coal and nitrates. Mining has brought stability to the country and has in turn led to a large and thriving financial industry. Supporting this has been an increasingly strong in-house profession. In-house lawyers have become more prevalent in Chile since the turn of the century, as large companies seek to gain more tailored legal advice aligned to their ever-growing operations and aspirations. The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist: Chile features in-house lawyers from companies across a range of sectors, with renowned legal talent from some of the most important businesses and organisations recognised.
In particular, the GC Powerlist: Chile includes those in-house lawyers that have been able to successfully combine their technical legal ability with excellent business acumen to make a truly indispensable contribution to their company’s success.
Over several months our experienced researchers consulted both law firm partners and in-house counsel in order to garner nominations for those believed to provide the most outstanding support and innovative methods of working in the market. We then chose those nominees who were most worthy of inclusion through background research and telephone interviews.
I would like to express my personal thanks to our sponsors, Carey, for supporting this publication. A special mention must also be made for the general counsel that took time to speak to us throughout the process, and for the research team that worked on this GC Powerlist publication, Boris Dechev and Mudasser Ahmedi.
David Burgess
Publishing Director
