Team size: Ten

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

Traditionally, the role of an in-house lawyer has been seen as supporting the business or operational areas of the company. Legal departments were described as assisting and driving the company’s objectives, which were led by those areas.

In recent years, the notion of having a support function has evolved into becoming a partner in the development and execution of business, financial, and operational strategies. No longer does the legal department simply say that something cannot be done; today, the legal department collaborates and executes alongside other areas of the company. We have transitioned from being a defensive player to an offensive one, providing constant support in achieving business goals.

Therefore, when talking about challenges, one has undoubtedly been the intervention of the legal team to lead negotiation and relationship challenges. This has involved setting innovative objectives that are aligned not only with the needs of the company, but also with the expansion of natural gas in different regions of the country. Thus, a team accustomed to the role of representative in dispute resolution has come to the table to discuss and formulate commercial negotiation strategies, operational alternatives, approaches to community involvement and other opportunities that have allowed us to enhance the skills of each member of the area and provide the company with an additional approach beyond to the traditional one.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

The pandemic confronted us with a reality that we could never have overcome without the support of virtual tools to hold meetings, conduct court hearings, transfer documents, and so on, without leaving home. Currently, we are witnessing that technological growth can encompass much more than basic data processing. Advances to improve research activities, legal drafting, analysis of case law or doctrine, legal translation, among others, will be services that we lawyers will have to learn to use to empower our teams. The more efficiency and speed technology gives us, the more room we lawyers will have to innovate in strategy and analysis.

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

The need for greater collaboration between public and private entities is of great concern to me. The national expansion of natural gas is one of the government’s top priorities. It is highly strategic for the decentralisation of the country’s economic development to use the cleanest, most competitive, and safest fuel available to us. Furthermore, considering that Peru has proven reserves for at least 25 years, we have a golden opportunity for the commercial and industrial development of our regions. In this sense, it is urgent to continue with the joint efforts between the authorities and private capital to maintain stability and generate a healthy increase in the consumption of this fuel, thus promoting higher levels of national growth.