Conclusions of the XIII Latin American Legal Forum on the role of the legal sector in business development and investment

On July 7, Gericó Associates held the XIII Latin American Legal Forum in Lima (Peru), under the title “Law, Business and Innovation”. This edition brought together more than 250 attendees and addressed issues of interest and current affairs in the legal sector, with the participation of renowned law firms, companies and institutions from both Spain and Latin America.

50 international speakers participated in this event, among others: Enrique Ferrando. senior partner at Osterling Abogados (Peru); Francesco Campora, partner at Loy Letelier Campora (Chile); José Ignacio García Cueto, partner at Clifford Chance (USA. ); Alfredo Bullard, partner at Bullard Falla Ezcurra + (Peru); Guillermo Ferrero, partner at Philippi, Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Peru); Jorge Lazo, founding partner at Lazo De Romaña & Bravo Abogados (Peru); Xavier Rosales, partner at CorralRosales (Ecuador); Oscar Trelles, partner at Cuatrecasas (Peru); Gonzalo Fernández Ruiz, partner at Carey (Chile); Michelle Barclay, partner at CMS Grau (Peru); Carlos Caro, founding partner at Caro & Asociados (Peru); Fabian Solís, partner at Aguilar Castillo Love (Costa Rica); Héctor Figari, legal director at Microsoft Subsidiaria Sur (Peru); Cristina Jaramillo, partner at Compliance Ecuador; Jorge Muñiz, senior partner at Muñiz, Olaya, Meléndez, Castro, Ono & Herrera Abogados (Peru); Katherine González, vice president at Alarb and former regional director for the ICC Court (Panama); and Luis Carlos Rodrigo, partner at Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano (Peru).

It also included the participation of representatives of the business sector such as Gabriel Daly, General Manager at CONFIEP (Peru); Carlos Morante, General Director of Retail Business at Banco Santander (Peru); Gonzalo Quijandría, Director of Corporate Affairs at MINSUR (Peru); Juan Coronado, General Manager at Ignis Energía (Peru); and Augusto Bauer, Deputy CEO at Grupo Aje (Peru); among others, and the former Ministers of Justice and Human Rights of Peru, Ana Teresa Revilla and Fernando Castañeda.

Wilfredo Murillo, partner of Gericó Associates, explains that “the forum has become a space for business leaders and executives, law firm partners, legal managers, marketing and communication managers, officials and executives to discuss everything related to investment, law and innovation in Peru and Latin America”. In addition, he adds that “this in-person edition has allowed us to confirm the relevance of the legal sector in the economy of the countries and how important it is to connect it with the business sector”.

Marc Gericó, managing partner at Gericó Associates,  affirms that “Change is the only constant in life and precisely one of the objectives of this Forum is to understand the concept of ‘client centrism’ in such a sophisticated context as the one in which we currently find ourselves”. “This year’s Latin American Legal Forum in face-to-face format has allowed us to carry out a very powerful networking at an international level. We are very pleased to have been able to bring together 50 speakers from different parts of the region and the different interesting topics that were discussed during the day,” adds Gericó.

XIII Latin American Legal Forum: highlights

The objective of this edition has been, from the beginning, to connect the legal sector with the business sector in order to promote the economic progress of each country. To this end,the forum was divided into three blocks: a main presentation and three parallel panels.

The Law section began with a presentation on “Investment arbitration“, in which the panelists emphasized this type of arbitration as a mechanism for managing political risk. In this regard, Francesco Campora, partner of Loy Letelier Campora, mentioned the ways in which such risk could be controlled, such as participation in multilateral organizations, diplomatic protection or the signing of treaties. In this regard, he highlighted the importance of the Agreements for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments and the ICSID Convention in the international investment market.

On the other hand, TLZGlobal international arbitrator Tomas Leonard commented that “there is no balance for an underdeveloped country and, therefore, investment treaties were signed, which ultimately sought to protect the two contracting states and assumed the possible risks”.

Subsequently, Clifford Chance partner José Ignacio García Cueto, asked: “Do you agree that arbitrations should be open to the public and show greater transparency?”. Among the conclusions, they highlighted the importance of the confidentiality of the issues and of the economic sums, as well as the relevance of making documents such as minutes, awards and pleadings more accessible to the public.

In the parallel panel “Latin American Investment Panoramas in Europe and Asia” of the Business section, it was commented that there should be no limits when investing in a business, even if that means exporting outside the country.

Augusto Bauer, Deputy CEO of Grupo Aje, recommended the attendees “not to be afraid when dealing with foreign markets” and, in cases where business does not go as expected, “to decide to change strategy, but not the path”. Pablo Secada, on the other hand, advised “to analyze the context before making any investment, to have a contingency plan and to always be cautious”. On the other hand, the economic journalist at Diario Gestión Javier Priale recommended “to bet on small national micro-enterprises and their different products or services”.

In the closing panel “The new role of the lawyer in society” of the Innovation section, the panelists explained that the profession must adapt to the changes in society with the protagonism that characterizes it, in which excessive commercialism must be avoided and the defense of human rights, justice and freedom must be revalued, especially in times in which corruption degrades the legal profession.

Luis Carlos Rodrigo, partner at Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano, said that “the lawyer has an essential duty which is to help build, maintain and ensure respect for the rule of law, which is the element that facilitates social life, human relations, business relations, among others”.

Jorge Muñiz, senior partner at Muñiz, Olaya, Meléndez, Castro, Ono & Herrera Abogados, commented that “the profession is wonderful but complex“. According to him, “it is about not being skeptical and contributing with social service, promoting transparency and ethics in the profession, as well as to stop questioning everything and defend our legal system as long as there is no other constitution”.