Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

Since the pandemic, our reality as in-house counsel changed and we had to adapt to this new reality (hybrid work, budget reviews, etc.). In our case, we looked at our expense structure and tried to find ways to be more efficient. I led an internal review in our team to see what matters were being done outside that could be taken in house and what resources were available already and to being fully used by the team. We found out that with the implementation of certain technological solutions we were able to do more work without stressing our team. In addition to that, we know try to be as proactive and business centered as possible. I talked to our stakeholders and asked them to include us in key projects as soon as possible. This way, we can add value from the start and anticipate any need for external counsel and review if our workload will be able to take additional projects. I think that having our eyes and ears open helps a lot, they make people approach us with questions that help us assess different matters and anticipate any stretch we have in the team.

I think that paying attention and being empathic with our peers can go a long way with little extra cost, building trust and improving relationships is key in this new reality.

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?

Yes, I think we will see increasing review of legal expenses and ways to become more efficient as business partners. I also believe we will be brought up to speed in technology tools as the legal profession has been historically slow to incorporate technology into its daily lives. The use of AI will also play a key role in the future of our profession. It can be a helping tool to many of low value time consuming activities and this can create value to our profession and help us keep our attention to more important things and free time that will enable us to participate in key initiatives of our companies early on.

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in Mexico?

In the spirits business we are seeing a premiumisation trend and the increased popularity of ready to drink products such as hard seltzers. This was one of the most surprising results of the pandemic. People started to spend more on the products the consumed in the own homes. For us, this is a challenging trend as sometimes our portfolio is not as aligned as needed and these changes happen fast. In addition to this, our industry is becoming increasingly more consumer centred, and this requires a lot of work from the legal teams as a focus is placed for example in data protection and privacy.

How would you assess the impact of new technologies on the legal landscape in Mexico, and what measures would you propose to leverage these technologies while ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations?

I believe that the implementation of modern technologies will become the norm and we must be ready. For example, e-signature has become popular but there are still people who do not trust this process and prefer hard copies which require more time and resources. I think that the profession must prepare and open itself to innovation. I understand that Mexico has different challenges in terms of infrastructure and an overly complex legal landscape but I´m a firmly believer that we should push for having innovation embedded in our system as it is a great equaliser for businesses and people.