Team size: 10

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

Over the past 12 months, my primary focus has been to provide the business with strategic legal support for its day-to-day operations, ensuring continuity and minimising disruption by structuring and positioning the legal team to partner effectively with the operation. I led several high-impact initiatives that significantly improved efficiency, not only within the legal function but also across the broader operation. Through strategic case management, proactive risk mitigation, and preventive measures to reduce exposure to fines and sanctions, my team delivered more than US$315mn in savings for the company. In addition, we successfully concluded 18 judicial proceedings and achieved savings of more than 10% of the legal budget through disciplined, value-driven allocation of resources.

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

The role of in-house counsel has evolved far beyond legal advisory – we are now strategic partners at the heart of business decision-making. In an industry as dynamic and risk intensive as mining, three attributes stand out as essential. First, business acumen. Understanding the commercial, operational, and financial realities of the business allows counsel to provide advice that is not just legally sound, but genuinely actionable. Legal risk cannot be assessed in isolation from business context. Second, leadership and influence. Modern in-house counsel must be capable of shaping culture, guiding boards, and earning the trust of diverse stakeholders, from executives to regulators to communities on the ground. Influence without authority is a skill worth cultivating deliberately. Third, adaptability. The mining sector faces constant shifts – regulatory reform, ESG pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, and technological disruption. Counsel who thrive are those who embrace change as a constant, not an exception, and help their organisations navigate it with clarity and confidence. Ultimately, the most effective in-house counsel brings a mindset that is equal parts lawyer, business leader, and trusted advisor.

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

Over the next year, in-house counsel in the mining sector in Peru will be operating in a rapidly evolving landscape where regulatory predictability, ESG performance, and political risk are tightly intertwined. On the regulatory front, counsel should closely monitor potential adjustments to the mining concessions framework, including rules on “idle” concessions that may affect the security and planning horizon of long-term projects. At the same time, the ongoing transition from temporary informal-miner registries to more permanent small‑scale mining regimes, together with digitalisation measures such as the single permitting window, will demand greater sophistication in tracking permitting timelines, renewal triggers, and enforcement trends at both national and regional levels. Equally important is the ESG and social license agenda. Climate resilience, water management, and tailings standards are no longer technical back-office issues; they are emerging as core legal and reputational risks, often litigated through environmental, constitutional, and human-rights mechanisms. In parallel, the spread of illegal mining, deforestation, and mercury contamination is heightening scrutiny around companies’ roles in broader territorial governance and their relationships with Indigenous and local communities.

Finally, Peru’s political volatility means that tax, royalty, and local-content debates can resurface quickly. In-house counsel must stress-test existing contracts and stabilisation clauses, ensuring the business is prepared for shifts that may come not only through formal legislative reforms but also via regulatory practice and administrative criteria.