Chile 2022
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Legal manager North Latin America and Andean region | Electrolux
General counsel and corporate compliance officer | Sacyr Chile
Legal manager, data protection officer and human rights correspondant | L’Oréal Chile
General counsel Chile and compliance officer Latam | ALSTOM
Vice president associate general counsel head of legal Latin America | Everest Compañía de Seguros Generales Chile
Vice president, corporate affairs and sustainability | WOM Chile
Chief legal, sustainability and corporate affairs officer | Softys
General counsel, corporate affairs and corporate secretary | Aclara Resources
General counsel and secretary of the board | ENEL Chile and Enel Americas
General counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary | Grupo Automotores Gildemeister
Legal manager – compliance and ethics | The Adecco Group
Vice president of legal and compliance in Andes | Liberty Mutual Insurance
Head of legal and compliance Chile, Perú and Ecuador | Boehringer Ingelheim
In-house lawyer, fiscal | Sociedad Concesionaria Vespucio Norte Express
General counsel for Latin America and Caribbean, and regional director risk management LAC | WSP
Director of legal affairs | Empresa de Correos de Chile
General counsel | Echeverría Izquierdo Montajes Industriales
Legal and compliance manager | Grupo Bureau Veritas Chile
Human resources director | G4S Security Services Chile
Company secretary and general counsel | Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional
Legal and administration director | Minera Freeport McMoRan South America Limitada
Vice president legal, regulatory and coporate affairs | VTR Comunicaciones
Legal manager – fiscal | Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército
Head of legal, compliance and ethics officer | EDF Renewables Chile
Associate general counsel and head of Latin America legal organisation | TATA Consultancy Services
Corporate legal manager | Empresa Nacional del Petróleo
Senior corporate and real estate lawyer | Gibraltar Group
The Legal 500 has been analysing the capabilities of law firms around the world for 35 years. Over the course of the last decade, we have expanded our legal analysis to include corporate counsel–again on a global scale–as reflected in our GC Powerlist series, which identifies the leading corporate counsel in more than 150 jurisdictions.
As lead researcher for The Legal 500’s Chile GC Powerlist 2022, it is my pleasure to introduce this extensive edition of the GC Powerlist series. Rarely have we conducted so many interviews with the leading in-house legal minds of a country while investigating; it was a privilege to be able to speak with the lawyers contained within these pages about opportunities and challenges they face now and in the future. Some examples of these enervating discussions are below.
In common with their contemporaries around the world, Chile-based GCs have endured a highly uncertain past two years. As Alberto Vergara, director of litigation at Scotiabank Chile reflects, ‘the Covid-19 pandemic made the changes and challenges that we were already facing even more dramatic, urgent, and exponential. Legal counsel, especially in-house ones, had to adopt overnight ways of working that we previously would have considered counterintuitive’. He views the agility that he and his in-house legal colleagues showed in adapting to the pandemic’s new requirements in order to continue effectively serving their organisations as a point of pride: ‘We as legal counsel were crucial in order to provide the legal advice required to adapt to the new circumstances, putting aside our established wisdom and old ways of working. We should be proud of the outcome.’
Anastassia Fagetti Arenas, legal manager, data protection officer and human rights correspondent for L’Oreal Chile summed up the huge value that top-quality in-house counsel can give to an organisation, with a fitting tribute to her contemporaries: ‘With our ability to anticipate changes in an increasingly volatile, complex, uncertain and ambiguous world, having a position in legal matters allows us to evaluate the most suitable solutions proactively and take a more active role in the face of different changes or challenges. This ability to accelerate our legal vision allows us to protect the organisation’s reputation and ourselves against possible impacts on the company, our stakeholders, and shareholders.’
I am extremely pleased to present this list of the most successful, agile and innovative in-house lawyers in Chile.
Yoonsong Choi | Lead Research Analyst | GC Powerlist Chile 2022
The Legal 500 has kindly invited Carey to host the fourth edition of the GC Powerlist Chile, which recognises the most influential and innovative general counsel of Chile. In order to identify the top general counsel in the country, The Legal 500 conducted independent research, which includes in-depth consultations with important members of the Chilean legal community, with a particular emphasis on those general counsel that promote effective team collaboration.
Carey warmly congratulates those who have been recognised, including those with whom we have shared professional experiences that have enabled us to appreciate first hand their leadership and effectiveness.
Although Chile is experiencing tumultuous times, including the drafting of a new constitution which will be approved or rejected through a referendum in September, the legal community in Chile widely believes that our democratic traditions, our solid institutions, a general absence of corruption and a respect for the rule of law will ultimately allow our country to continue prospering and maintain its position as one of the leading nations in Latin America.
Carey reiterates its belief that the general counsel recognised by The Legal 500 have played, and will continue to play, an important role in maintaining Chile’s high ethical and political standards. We view them as legal lighthouses which guide the corporations they serve, preventing them from making decisions that might lead them to dangerous waters. As Chile’s largest law firm, Carey, of course, shares this task.
We also share many of the same values and beliefs with this group of prestigious general counsels. Building a strong and positive culture in a law firm is not an easy task and requires continual work and reflection. We at Carey appreciate the leadership and inspiration that the lawyers recognised by The Legal 500 this year provide to the entire legal community.
Thank you to The Legal 500 for this invitation and, once again, congratulations to the general counsel selected for their outstanding work.
Jorge Carey | Chairman | Carey
Legal 500 was proud to host the second edition of the GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 in Nairobi, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. This year’s reception brought together over 100 of the most influential and innovative corporate counsel from the region, and was an unrivalled success, cementing Legal 500’s role as the leading voice in recognising in-house legal excellence across Africa.
The evening was opened by Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC Powerlist publication at Legal 500, who highlighted the growing prestige of the East Africa edition and the increasing challenge of selecting honourees from such a deep (and rapidly growing) pool of talent.
Guests were then treated to some particularly relevant insights from distinguished speakers. Rachel Musoke, Head of ENS Uganda, delivered a thoughtful welcome that reflected on the importance of collaboration between private practice and in-house teams. This was followed by a powerful keynote from Habil Waswani, Company Secretary & Director Legal Services and Regulatory Compliance at Kenya Airways, who shared reflections on leadership, regulatory stewardship, and the evolving role of corporate counsel in East Africa.
The highlight of the evening was the certificate ceremony, where this year’s honourees were formally recognised. Certificates were presented by senior representatives of ENS, including Désiré Kamanzi (head of ENS Rwanda), Rachel Musoke, Nigel Shaw (head of ENS Kenya), Donald Nyakairu (Partner, ENS Uganda), Dieudonne Nzafashwanayo (partner, ENS Rwanda) and Binti Shah (Partner, ENS Kenya) whose participation underlined the depth of the firm’s support for the GC Powerlist initiative.
The GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 reaffirmed The Legal 500’s commitment to shining a spotlight on the region’s most talented in-house lawyers. With an even stronger field of candidates, this year’s edition stands as a powerful testament to the influence and expertise of East Africa’s legal leaders. Habil Waswani’s excellent speech, which got a raucous reception from those in the room, is reproduced below with his permission:
‘My name is Habil Waswani, and I have been an inhouse legal practitioner for the past 21 years in different sectors (having done law-firm practice for 2 years before that). Tt is indeed a true privilege and honour for me to be here tonight, surrounded by the sharpest legal minds and calmest crisis-handlers the East African corporate world has to offer.
First, let me thank the Legal 500 and ENSAfrica teams, for organising such a fantastic event and for bringing us together in such style. Congratulations to each of tonight’s honourees. You represent the very best of general counsel in this very dynamic corporate space the businesses we support operate in. Strategic, ethical, resilient, and, let’s be honest, often underappreciated leaders of industry.
I am so happy that this evening is not about contracts, or compliance checklists, or board packs. Tonight is about celebrating you, the people behind all of that. The steady hands guiding companies through complexities, uncertainties, and ensuring that the opportunities that lie within those difficult circumstances are lawfully realized.
We all know the role of GCs has evolved. We are no longer tucked away at the end of a corridor marked “Legal” or labelled the proverbial “cost centres”. These days, the GCs sit at the big table – helping drive corporate strategy, shaping desired culture, providing leadership and safeguarding business reputations. We have become indispensable partners to businesses, interpreters, navigators, protectors… and on some (many) days, therapists with law degrees. And yet, we mostly do it all so quietly. No victory laps, no press releases. Often, success for us means the expected disaster didn’t happen.
But tonight, we break that rule. Tonight, we raise a glass to the GCs who’ve blazed the trail courageously, with clarity, conviction, and tremendous resilience that only matches the expectations of the Leadership Guru John Maxwell when he said, “resilient leaders don’t wait for the storm to past — they learn to dance in the rain”. You have managed to balance growth and governance, risk and reward regularly. And, of course, always managed to deal with those 10pm messages: “Hey, just a quick question…Are you able to talk right now…?”
Let this evening serve as a reminder that you are not just experienced legal advisors. You are leaders — spear heads and enablers of execution — and without a doubt critical pillars of business strategy.
To all the honourees, congratulations once again for the well-deserved recognition. This is for the heavy lifting that you do, the standards you uphold, and the impact you make – quietly, consistently, and brilliantly so. You’ve earned this spotlight.
