Colombia 2022
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Legal and compliance manager Colombia and Central America | Linde
Legal counsel contracts | Comcel - Claro Colombia
Legal director of corporate affairs | Hoteles Decameron
Director of legal and corporate affairs | Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales and Oleoducto Bicentenario de Colombia
Head of legal and corporate affairs, general counsel and compliance officer | Tecnoglass
Associate general counsel - Latin America | Trane Technologies
Advisor - legal vice president | Grupo Energía Bogotá
General counsel | Cenit Transporte y Logística de Hidrocarburos
Head of legal and compliance – compliance officer | Mazda
Corporate legal counsel and compliance officer, Andean and CCA-Caribbean and Central America Region | Avaya
Legal manager, corporate secretary | Distribuidora Nissan (Grupo Vardí)
Legal manager and compliance officer - LATAM | Cepsa Colombia
Legal vice president and secretary general | Arthur J. Gallagher Colombia
Chief legal and compliance officer | Teleperformance
General counsel and corporate affairs director | Grupo Empresarial Levapan
General secretary and legal director | Caracol Primera Cadena Radial Colombiana
Senior counsel Latam and third party risk, export controls team manager | Zoom Video Communications
Legal vice president - general counsel | Hoteles Decameron
General counsel | Fondo Latinoamericano de reservas - FLAR
Legal and compliance manager Colombia and Panama | Bureau Veritas Colombia
Vice president of corporate affairs and secretary general | Ecopetrol
Legal director Colombia - data privacy advisor Latam | Unilever
Principal counsel, corporate operations and rest of Latin America | The Walt Disney Company
Executive vice president, general counsel | Inter-American Coal
Director of legal, logistics and business | Biomax Biocombustibles
Vice president legal | Cámara Colombiana de la Infraestructura
Chief counsel of private sector legal division and member of the board of directors | CAF - Development Bank of Latin America & CAF - Asset Management Uruguay
It has been a privilege and an honour to conduct research for this year’s Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Colombia 2022, the first edition after the imposed hiatus caused by the pandemic. As lead researcher, I have had the opportunity to speak with the most outstanding in-house counsel in the region. Our interviews have touched upon several topics such as sustainability, technology and the impact of Covid-19 on business operations. Among other revelations, the overall picture that emerged is that Colombia-based in-house counsel have come out from the pandemic stronger than ever and ready to look ahead, working to bring added value to their organisations, harness technology to drive efficiencies, and make their operations more sustainable to promote the growth of the country.
Colombia’s position as one of the region’s most stable economies has allowed it to face the pandemic and overcome it without significant repercussions, and some statistics highlight this. Colombia’s GDP has expanded by 10.6% and is predicted to grow faster than any other country in Latin America. It continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investors, given the existence of multiple business centres and various sectoral demands. The strategic geographic position it enjoys at the centre of the continent allows for greater connection with every destination across the hemisphere.
Additionally, Colombia has been actively responding to international challenges, acting on sustainable development. It aims to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 51% by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. These are just some factors that make Colombia a solid place to do business and, in turn, a fertile environment for producing high-quality in-house counsel.
This year’s GC Powerlist Colombia highlights the role of general counsel in embracing change and innovation, working towards the development of their country — “my team and I work with the purpose of being seen as supporters of these initiatives, which requires an attitude towards change backed by the legal knowledge that allows seeking for responses, said Jorge Adrián Rincón Plata, chief legal officer in Grupo Aval. Technology will continue to demand in-house lawyers to drive efficiencies and work smarter. These pages reveal that in-house lawyers in Colombia are on top of their games when it comes to adapting to new scenarios and changes. As Fernando Victoria Peña, chief legal and compliance officer at Teleperformance, suggests: “the pandemic has brought many lessons to the legal profession. Our role can adapt and transform, and we can guarantee the same legal security through new technologies. We are opening the Pandora’s box to be more efficient and productive”.
I want to extend the most profound gratitude to every in-house lawyer who participated in this edition of the GC Powerlist. This issue of our worldwide publication acknowledges the most outstanding and impressive in-house lawyers who have tackled new challenges and have used their expertise and versatility to adapt to new scenarios and master the use of technology advancements to promote the success of their corporations. I am incredibly proud to be able to introduce this list of Colombia’s most outstanding, agile and acclaimed in-house lawyers.
Sara Maggi | Research analyst | GC Powerlist Series
The recent news that elite US firm Sullivan & Cromwell had apologised to a judge over AI hallucinations in a court filing prompted a collective wince from the legal profession.
But while some lawyers remain wary of AI, others are striking a more open-minded note, and at the LexisNexis AI Forum hosted this Wednesday (20 May) by Legal 500 and Legal Business, panelists argued that the risks are far outweighed by the opportunities.
Barbara Zapisetskaya, principal technology counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, made the case that hallucinations and other potential pitfalls can be overcome with a shift in mindset.
‘What makes a difference,’ she said, ‘is empowering your lawyers to take responsibility for AI output – helping them become active AI operators, not just passive AI users. You have agency to decide whether you agree with the output or not.’
Zapisetskaya was among a line-up of leading in-house figures speaking on two panels, which covered everything from practical steps for AI implementation to the key decisions GCs need to be making in the coming months.
Financial Times general counsel Dan Guilford began by stressing the importance of building the right culture for AI adoption. In addition to proactively upskilling himself, Guilford talked about how he had implemented a voluntary weekly ‘show and tell’ meeting for team members to share successful use cases – or an exercise that became a gratifying measure of progress.
Other panelists discussed how increased in-house productivity is altering the dynamic with their external counsel.
While some see the use of AI by law firms as a precursor for reduced fees, Russell Davies, head of global operations for legal and compliance at Dentsu, said that faster results – however they are delivered – are something to be valued.
GSK assistant general counsel Anthony Kenny agreed, saying that while there was an expectation that external counsel would be utilising AI, the focus should be on the value of the output, rather than an overemphasis on identifying AI use as a justification to reduce fees.
Speaking on the second panel, MUFG EMEA general counsel James Morgan stressed the critical importance of education, noting that educating the C-suite on the advantages and risks of AI is just as important as enabling large in-house teams to use these tools.
Shanthini Satyendra, vice-chair of the AI Committee, Society for Computers & Law, CEO and founder of Manisain, offered a reminder of the importance of making the connection between tasks and the purpose behind them, extolling the virtues of identifying use cases for AI that can solve a meaningful problem.
Zapisetskaya concurred, adding that one of the most important tasks for GCs across the next six to twelve months is to create AI playbooks and templates, noting that ‘it is easy for lawyers to see problems – much harder for lawyers to see opportunities.’
There was also broad agreement among panellists that GCs should focus on upskilling their junior lawyers on AI, rather than – as some may expect – cutting back their workforce. As Satyendra summarised: ‘Some people are replacing human capital with AI without thinking about what’s required to make AI work. Retain your people and train them up.’
The panels were moderated by Emma Millington, head of the UK Lexis+ Finance Group, and LexisNexis director of segment management Stuart Greenhill.
