Gericó Associates celebrates the XII Latin American Legal Forum with The Latin American Lawyer

The event was presented by Gericó Associates, together with ESAN Graduate School of Business Law, with the support of Iberian Lawyer and The Latin American Lawyer

 The legal marketing and legal communications consultancy Gericó Associates, together with the ESAN Graduate School of Business Law and with the support of Iberian Lawyer and The Latin American Lawyer, held the XII Latin American Legal Forum. Partners representing law firms from Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic analysed the transformation of the legal sector, its prospects and strategies for efficiency, profitability and innovation.

The webinar was hosted virtually on 25 November, with Sandra Salmerón, general coordinator of ESAN Graduate School of Business Law (Peru) and Marc Gericó, managing partner of Gericó Associates (Spain), opening the first panel of the forum, moderated by Diana Jennen, director of communications and business at Gericó Associates (Spain).

In the first panel, entitled “The transformation of the sector as a reality. Advances, perspectives and projects”, the participants analysed the advances and challenges of the legal sector.

According to Xavier Rosales, partner at CorralRosales in Ecuador, it is important to differentiate between adaptation and transformation: “[…] adaptation is reactive, passive, circumstances lead us to adapt. Transformation, on the other hand, is conscious. This makes a big difference”.

Likewise, Liz Gordillo, managing partner of Arias in Guatemala, said that not only law firms are going through a profound change, but clients are also experiencing it. Claudia Távara, partner at Lazo de Romaña & Bravo Abogados in Peru, highlighted the growing role of technology: “Now, without much structural change, it is possible to reach more clients thanks to technology. Law firms must invest in these tools in order not to fall behind in their business development methods”. In relation to attracting and retaining talent, Nicolás Tirado, partner at Philippi, Prietocarrizosa, Ferrero DU & Uría in Colombia, stressed that: “It is difficult to find talent and retain it. A particularly relevant attribute today is digital talent, a characteristic that is more valued than ever and that is typical of young, digital natives”.

The second panel of the forum, ” Tracing the path towards more efficient, profitable and innovative law firms”, moderated by ESAN Graduate School of Business Law of Peru professor Juan José Hopkins, focused on efficiency, profitability and innovation in law firms, as evidenced by the statements given:

• Carlos de la Pedraja, global corporate director at ONTIER, said, “Firms have always been much more effective than efficient. In law firms we still have the hourly billing structure, which is complicated when it comes to being efficient. From my point of view, firms have been made for lawyers and that structure is designed with them in mind, when really the power is no longer in our hands, but in those of the clients”.
• Miguelina Figueroa, head of Headrick’s Intellectual Property and Regulatory Affairs department in the Dominican Republic, said: “When we go to make a selection of what costs we should assume, we cannot lose sight of what the client expects from us.
• Alejandro Mesa, managing partner of Baker McKenzie in Colombia, said: “The Legal Project Manager channels the new needs arising from the requirement of clients for more commercial responses. In addition, this new figure has an impact on the relationship between efficiency and effectiveness”.
• Rodolfo Rueda, a partner at Holland & Knight in Mexico, said: “In the year 1900, there were only one hundred and eight thousand lawyers in the entire United States. Today, there are more than one million. In addition, the global marketplace is more competitive and efficient. The lawyer has become a business facilitator, which requires greater efficiency and corporate leadership from law firms. In short, it is a matter of contributing greater value to the community of which we are a part.

Finally, Marc Gericó, managing partner of Gericó Associates, thanked all the panelists of the XII Latin American Legal Forum: “Our goal is to provide a place for the legal sector to meet and reflect, where the transformation processes, challenges and opportunities that law firms are experiencing are periodically analysed”.