About

Under the leadership of such outstanding lawyers as legal director and general counsel Roberto Ladrón de Guevara and legal manager Francisca Celedón, MetLife’s legal department in Chile has come a long way in its journey to transition from a simple function, performing ‘yes and no’ legal analysis for the business, to a commercially minded, ‘pro business’ internal unit. According to Ladrón this means that the team’s analysis ‘not only focuses to determine whether a specific business or requirement fits under the law, but also proposes alternative solutions to the line of businesses’. This has ‘increased the company’s businesses on a quite important basis,’ he adds. Further to changes to its role within the company, MetLife’s team has been keen to digitise its service offering, by incorporating electronic contracts, introducing online training and utilising authentication systems for performing acts and contracts. As digital technologies have also had an impact on MetLife’s insurance hiring process, the team has helped in adapting and modifying hiring forms, thus opening a whole new channel of distribution. On the transactional front Ladrón’s team has been involved in important deals with banks and important retail sponsors, which required the team’s expertise in policy migration and long term contract drafting. The team also received applauds for its swift executing of a stock purchase agreement with Legal Chile, one of MetLife’s subsidiaries, as well as for its work in closing three of the largest leasing deals in the industry. Recent acclaim for the team has also centred on its ability to influence regulatory change in the wider industry, its expertise in managing labour contracts and its insurance policies for new products. Heavily praised by external nominators, Roberto Ladrón de Guevara’s strengths lie in his ability to work under high levels of pressure associated with large transactions. His colleague Francisca Celedón has received special mentions this year for her work on product development, assistance on support areas including IT and human resources, as well as on leadership of new regulation initiatives.