Latest issue now online
The latest issue of The Latin American Lawyer is now available online for free download.
The July-August issue features an interview with partners from four Brazilian law firms – Pinheiro Neto, Baptista Luz, Trench Rossi Watanabe and CTA ECIJA – on the new data protection law, Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais (LGPD), that comes into effect in the country in August, and how it will bring challenges to the firms’ clients, and to the law firms themselves.
“The LGPD itself was necessary given this shift from offline to online. But with the LGPD a whole new legal practice is already a reality,” according to Pinheiro Neto partner Raphael de Cunto.
In Mexico, new regulations governing private participation in the country’s electric power sector introduced in May pose a challenge to companies engaged in the sector, as the government seeks to increase the role of state utility CFE, but which threatens to stymie the development of renewable energy in the country and limit the likelihood of the government achieving its clean energy goals in line with commitments made at the Paris Climate Summit.
In addition, the new regulations may also lead to litigation as companies seek to renegotitate or exit the contracts they signed with the government.
“Part of the new rules could be interpreted as a step backwards for the electricity sector in Mexico, by seeking to strengthen the CFE as a key player in the country’s electricity sector, affecting the conditions for competition that had been generated by the 2013 energy reform,” Juan Carlos Serra, a partner at Mexican law firm Basham Ringe y Correa, told The Latin American Lawyer.
And from Ecuador, law firm Heka’s new head of its arbitration and litigation practice, Cristina Viteri, talks about relishing the challenge of her new role, and how arbitration will continue to be an important instrument of conflict resolution in the country.
“Due to the effects of the pandemic and the need for countries to reactivate their economies, law firms face the challenge of offering legal solutions to the problems that are arising,” she says. “Without a doubt, the pandemic has had serious repercussions on the economy, but at the same time, in the legal sphere, it has created many opportunities.”
And in our in-house section, César Alejandro Villegas Ávila, Spanish energy and infrastructure conglomerate Acciona’s legal director for Mexico and the Caribbean, talks about how law firms act as a company’s ‘family doctor’, knowing their history, their needs, strengths and weaknesses.
“Nobody can provide you with emergency legal attention or first aid like your trusted lawyer. As in all relationships, the relationship between a company and a law firm is based on honesty, communication and transparency,” he says.
The latest issue of the magazine is available for free download here.
