How do you manage legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis, ensuring that your legal strategy aligns with the broader business?

One of the most significant recent challenges was leading the legal team under my charge at Scotiabank, during the COVID19 crisis. Under my leadership, we quickly implemented an operational framework that ensured the continuity of the vast majority of the bank’s critical operations, despite health restrictions. Coordinated the structured renegotiation of various credit operations to mitigate default risks, including the implementation of contracts and procedures related to the REACTIVA PERU Program. Likewise, I designed guidelines and protocols for remote work models that allowed all the personnel in the area to continue operating without regulatory or compliance incidents.

Once the pandemic was over, another revolution arrived: digital transformation. This moment we are living in requires a profound redesign of processes and legal frameworks. In my case, in coordination with the legal teams in the region, I led at the local level the update of the most relevant technology contracts for the bank, incorporating best practices in cybersecurity, data protection and cloud services. I also led the legal evaluation of digitalisation projects, both in the bank and in the subsidiaries, which increased the online contracting of Scotiabank group products.

And none of those stages would have been possible without first transforming my own team. I opted for a collaborative and horizontal work model, reducing response times and with an emphasis on clarity and speed in decision-making. Together with the team, we transformed the area’s operating models by incorporating agile processes for the formalisation of standard contracts, and reducing response times in critical operational processes (review of letters of guarantee, response to inquiries to agencies, etc.), raising levels of internal satisfaction and strengthening a culture of preventive advice. I also implemented the “InLegal” program, an innovative system of internal legal services that brought legal advisors closer to internal clients, which in turn helped to proactively identify pain points in certain processes, and even potential legal risks in its first two years of operation.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

My experience has allowed me to confirm that the essential skills for an in-house legal manager transcend the technical domain. Among the most relevant competencies, I would highlight: strategic vision to anticipate regulatory impacts; analytical capacity to translate complex regulations into operational solutions; leadership in times of crisis; assertive communication to influence business decisions; and a mindset oriented towards service and added value, not only the control of regulatory risk or the absolution of legal consultations.

Are there any key trends that you think in-house lawyers should be monitoring over the next year?

Looking ahead, I believe that in-house legal counsel will need to be prepared for an agenda marked by the convergence of regulation, technology, and corporate governance. Artificial intelligence will require powerful and auditable governance frameworks; cybersecurity will be consolidated as a front-line legal risk; data regulation will be stricter; and the adoption of open finance models will require new contractual structures as well as agile internal processes, and all in line with a constantly evolving regulatory framework. This will be compounded by the growing relevance of ESG criteria, which will influence both product design and fiduciary and compliance obligations.