In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?
I have seen that the in-house legal role has increased in Ecuador due to many large companies which have obtained positive results by introducing this role. So many other medium and even small companies prefer to have in-house lawyers instead of several external advisors.
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
We have been through an acquisition of our local company by a Japanese company. This implied a post-merger integration and the change of many of our procedures and policies. This also resulted in a high legal compliance standard that we had to implement and maintain.
Currently, we are in the process of obtaining three ISO certifications that required all the attention of the team and our involvement within all the company areas, so their procedures, policies and documents are aligned with the current and applicable legislation.
It is important to mention that this legal department was created in May 2019; however, we can say for sure that it has grown and evolved in an incredibly positive way, achieving more goals than expected.
How does the team effectively manage legal risks, and what do you think are the biggest risks facing your industry at the moment?
In the PMI process we were required to implement a risk matrix so we can report, evaluate, and manage the risks in all the areas of the company.
In this FY2021 we have finished and completed this risk matrix so we can report and evaluate our risk. This is not only required by the Japanese corporation but in the ISO 9001 certification process too.
Currently we have in our team an expert in risk management who is part of my assistants’ team and provides us specific advice on this field.
The main risks in this industry are the quality accomplishment (local and international standards), the legal (anti bribery and antitrust) risks resulting from the business we have with both public and private institutions, and the employee security and health we are bound to observe.
