What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

Our legal team has recently played a key role in several high-impact corporate and regulatory matters. Among the most significant was supporting the integration of a new strategic partner into the company’s shareholding structure. This involved both corporate restructuring and navigating the regulatory approval process, ensuring full compliance with supervisory expectations.

We also led the legal and regulatory work surrounding the company’s first bond issuance. This milestone required close coordination across departments and with regulators to meet all disclosure and authorisation obligations, ensuring transparency and legal certainty throughout the process.

In addition, we provided legal guidance on the design and implementation of a fully digital client onboarding process, in line with the latest requirements issued by the Superintendency of Securities. This project required careful interpretation of regulatory updates and the translation of those requirements into actionable internal protocols. It was a clear example of how legal support is critical to innovation within a tightly regulated environment.

 How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

Managing legal risks during unstable periods demands a proactive, commercially minded approach rooted in a deep understanding of the organisation. As the in-house legal function within a regulated financial entity, we act as a front line for ensuring compliance and risk mitigation.

Our role goes beyond legal analysis—we position ourselves as business partners, helping to balance risk management with operational continuity. We prioritise early identification of legal issues, scenario planning, and clear, pragmatic advice that enables swift, well-informed decision-making even under pressure.

This integrated approach ensures that legal strategies are not developed in isolation but are fully aligned with the broader business objectives. It’s this alignment that strengthens resilience and supports the company’s long-term sustainability, even in times of uncertainty.

Looking forward, what trends do you foresee in the legal landscape in the Dominican Republic over the next 5–10 years that companies should prepare for?

In the coming 5–10 years, we expect to see increasing regulatory scrutiny across various sectors, particularly financial services and data protection. Regulators in the Dominican Republic are becoming more active, more demanding, and more aligned with international best practices.

This evolution means that companies will need to move beyond reactive compliance. Proactive legal risk management, internal policy development, and strategic engagement with regulators will become standard practice. Legal departments will need to play a more central role in shaping business strategy, embedding legal risk awareness into daily operations.

Additionally, as technology becomes more integral to service delivery, legal teams will also need to stay ahead of evolving regulatory frameworks in areas like cybersecurity, digital identity, and AI. The challenge—and opportunity—will lie in managing compliance while maintaining agility in innovation.

 AI has been taken seriously as a potentially revolutionary technological change in the legal world for a number of years now. Has it had a meaningful impact in how your legal team works in this time?

AI has certainly influenced the way our legal team works, particularly in enhancing efficiency for tasks such as document review, research, and internal information management. These tools allow us to reduce the time spent on routine tasks and redirect our focus towards more strategic activities.

That said, we approach AI with caution—especially as a regulated institution. Any tool we consider must be evaluated not only for its technical benefits but also for its compliance with data privacy laws and regulatory standards. We are committed to ensuring that the adoption of AI remains responsible and aligned with our obligations.

While AI can improve workflows, it cannot replicate critical legal functions such as risk assessment, nuanced interpretation, or contextual business understanding. Those elements remain central to our role as in-house counsel.