What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

For the last year, our legal team has been involved in multiple relevant transactions. In July 2021, we acquired circa 78% stake in Sociedad Portuaria Puerto de Barranquila in Colombia, in addition to creating our US digital infrastructure platform to invest in fiber networks and, through this vehicle, acquired ICTX WaveMedia, a 2000-kilometer carrier, grade, all fiber connectivity provider. Also, in December 2021, we acquired KIO Networks, Mexico’s largest data centre operator, and we sold our interest in Cube District Energy, a premier US landfill gas-to-energy platform, to Fiera Infrastructure. Lastly, in 2022, we provided legal support to Star Leasing, one of our portfolio companies, to triple the refrigerated capacity of its fleet and grew its fleet in the Midwestern and Southwestern regions to more than 20,000 trailers, in addition to completing the acquisition of VLS Environment Solutions.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

Working with counsel that aligns with our values is of great importance. First, it mitigates our legal exposure as counsel’s perception of risk is like ours and, hence, their advice will not unintentionally put us in a situation that is beyond our boundaries. Secondly, it makes our work more efficient as we do not need to spend a lot of time discussing courses of actions or positions that will clearly not be a good fit for us but, rather, a reasonable amount of time fine tuning them. Finally, and maybe more importantly, the sharing of our values is key in their positioning as our trusted advisors.

If you have worked in other countries, what are the main challenges unique to operating as an in-house counsel in your current location?

Culture and applicable law are two challenges that immediately come to mind as I still deal with them. Because the US is an international market, I learned how to interact with different individual cultures that would merge into one office culture. It is a process that takes time and calls for attention to new hires and their adjustment to the new collective culture. With respect to applicable law, because of the way the American legal system is structured, you must always be mindful of the variances between the law of the different states, as well as the federal law. As in-house counsel, you are permitted to practice law in states different from the ones you are admitted to, and you are also in contact with the law that applies in the different jurisdictions where your company does businesses. The foregoing demands that you educate yourself to get acquainted with those frameworks, as well as being self-aware of your limitations and when to reach out to outside counsel for advice.