Spain: Latam Specialists 2022
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
General counsel, chief legal officer | Iberostar Group
Secretary general and global head of legal | Grupo Secuoya
Global general counsel | Acciona Concesiones
Business and global coordination legal director, secretary of the compliance and audit committee | Iberdrola
Legal director Spain and Latam | Intelcia
Group head of corporate legal and vice-secretary of the board | Banco Santander
General manager corporate governance and legal affairs, secretary of the board | Abanca
Directora de regulacion y servicios juridicos | Grupo Red Electrica
Director of legal advice and internal audit | Grupo Central Lechera Asturiana
Global counsel - regulatory compliance and disputes | Spotify
General counsel and secretary board of directors | Olympic Broadcasting services
General counsel and regulatory affairs | Telefónica
Global deputy general counsel, global corporate legal director, director to the board of directors | Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación
General secretary and first deputy secretary | Iberdrola
Head of legal corporate and investment banking Germany | Banco Santander
Leading research for the maiden edition of The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Spain: Latin America Specialists was a great honour. It was characterised by a high level of engagement, a variety of extensive interviews and an opportunity to identify and liaise with Latin America specialists based in Spain and beyond. I am certainly appreciative of the time spared by these brilliant in-house lawyers to share their plans for their organisations and the investments and transactions they are leading their companies through in Latin America.
Against a backdrop of vast political and regulatory changes in Latin America, GCs are committed to reinforcing their company’s presence within Latin America. In the words of Alejandro Rincón Nieto, chief legal officer of Almar Water Solutions, ‘we will maintain our investment targets, provided the exchange rates and inflation compared to dollar remains assumable, and regulatory changes, like in Chile and Perú, do not harm carrying out business in the country.’ Other GCs such as the group legal counsel of Urban Developers and Investors, agreed with the sentiments about their organisation’s plans too, ‘Urban Developers and Investors are actively looking for new potential projects in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia with the aim of extending our presence in the region.’
Moreover, many general counsel interviewed confirmed that the context of the pandemic had given them unique challenges doing business in Latin America. The majority of interviews were characterised by GC’s innovative solutions to handling the gravity of the effects of the pandemic on the region, such as contractual shielding to protect their organisations. Succinctly put by David Burger, the legal department manager of GAM, ‘our strategy consists of inorganic growth taking advantage of the global market situation, focusing our operational growth on businesses without capex, especially the distribution, maintenance and training line of business and limiting our exposure to risk through contractual shielding of our commercial relationships.’
Despite the political and economic volatility that countries in Latin America experience, GCs in this edition of The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Spain: Latin America Specialists 2022 remain committed to leading their companies through hefty investments into the region. The relationship between Spain and Latin America remains fertile, with efforts being directed to increasing hiring efforts and interest in incorporating support from local companies. In the words of the director of legal advice and internal audit of CAPSA, Manual Morales Zapata, ‘We consider the LaAm market of maximum interest. We intend to continue the existing operations with the same clients and interlocutors, whom we already know, and to go little by little to increase the market.’
Summarily, these interviews conducted allowed for a brilliant and sound publication which sheds light on challenges in doing business in Latin America, pioneering solutions to these challenges and focuses on the historic relationship between the Latin American region and Spain.
We are glad to have such an esteemed list of leading legal professionals actively participating in this publication. It was such a pleasure to hear their highlights in their line of work and encapsulate their motivation in this publication. Tonight, they join hundreds of legal professionals globally located, in being recognised as Latin America Specialists in Spain and beyond. Congratulations to all the brilliant, innovative leading in-house counsel of The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Spain: Latin America Specialists 2022!
Melissa Yebisi| Research Analyst
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’
