About

Alvaro Josué Yáñez Alsina was appointed by Pacific Exploration & Production, the Canadian petroleum company, in Colombia to design the unification of existing contractual processes. Upon joining the company Yáñez Alsina had to merge legal teams from six different companies, which had been recently acquired by Pacific; eventually leading to the creation of one single, compact, cooperative legal team. This process included redefinition of roles, contractual models, policies and processes for several companies within three different jurisdictions. After the implementation of the reorganisation, the companies achieved a higher level of efficiency on projects, as well as an enhanced assurance for transactions. As legal advisors at Pacific participate side-by-side with the technical and ‘front office’ functions, Yáñez Alsina and his team of 15 professionals has an opportunity to play an active role in the definition of the strategies defined by the company for different projects. ‘That way, even when we are acting as a support area, we are considered a very valuable asset for the core business, by adding our expertise and views at a very early stage of each project’, Yáñez Alsina says. Prior to moving in-house Yáñez Alsina spent just over eight years in private practice with law firms Yáñez & Asociados and Arrieta Mantilla & Asociados. When asked about his greatest professional achievements to date, Yáñez Alsina recalls his work to renegotiate certain contracts with the Colombian petroleum authorities while working for Pacific. He says: ‘Such renegotiation was critical, due to the particular situation of the industry and the international petroleum prices crisis. We were able to complete the transaction within a very short period of time, with excellent results for the company’. Apart from his legal education, Yáñez Alsina completed the Management Program For Lawyers at Yale University, which has significantly widened his commercial understanding.