Marc Gericó: “The XIII Latin American Legal Forum will undoubtedly be one of the events of the year in Ibero-America”

In less than a month, the XIII Latin American Legal Forum, organized by Gericó Associates, will be held in Lima (Peru). In this context, the prestigious Colombian media El Tiempo has interviewed Marc Gericó, our managing partner, to learn more about the background of the event, what will the topics be, the guests and the challenges for the near future, among other aspects.

“We have a forecast of close to 200 people”

Gericó begins by explaining the focus of the XIII Latin American Legal Forum, which “will undoubtedly be one of the events of the year in Ibero-America“, and the significance of this meeting for the legal world in the region.“We want to beat all records. Our regional team has worked hard to achieve first class panels and will address current issues of great interest to the audience. All of this with a clear international focus, as we will have panelists from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and many parts of Latin America.”

More than 200 attendees are expected to come from Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Miami, Guatemala, and Panama, among other countries. They are mainly partners of international firms, directors of legal management / General Counsel and innovation and technology companies operating in the legal sector.

Present, past and future at the XIII Latin American Legal Forum

When asked how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way law is practiced in the region, Gericó responds that “the pandemic brought about very important changes in the way firms see themselves as authentic legal services companies. Many of them reflected deeply on different aspects. On the one hand, at the level of human capital, they tried to work on internal communication in a practically new context such as the adaptation to teleworking. At the same time, many aspects related to technology were reviewed. In terms of business development, they showed great interest in acquiring and improving their commercial skills and digital empathy, in a new context, in which face-to-face meetings with potential and current customers were stopped in their tracks. Finally, I would point out the concern in the review in customer fee policy systems. At a general level, all strategic planning was reviewed, given that the context was completely different from what was initially planned.

One of the major changes that justice systems underwent after the pandemic was in technology. Today, the technological capability of the legal sector has undergone a significant change. “I think a lot of law firms have cut steps – and therefore years – off their plans for new technology implementations. Obviously, not all of them. Many of them were already at a high state of sophistication, especially the international firms, and most of the large Colombian firms,” adds Gericó.

“The great challenge for firms is to achieve true customer-centricity”

In the new edition of the Latin American Legal Forum, industry experts will discuss the challenges for the practice of law and lawyers as we leave behind the most difficult moments of the pandemic. Gericó believes that “the great challenge for firms is to achieve a true client-centeredness. They must build their value proposition by putting the client at the center and acquiring business processes that move them away from traditional, rigid systems, which in many cases make them inefficient. Even more so at a time when clients are reluctant to accept hourly billing, so that measuring profitability becomes a critical value”.

He adds that “another big challenge will be data management. Market intelligence provides statistics that, today, few firms are knowing how to get the most out of them and make them scalable.

Themes of the XIII Latin American Legal Forum

During the event, different spaces and speakers have been reserved to address the following topics:

• Investment arbitration
• Business in Latin America: the new challenges and demands in the current situation
• The new role of the lawyer in society
• Legal security in investments
• Investment contracts
• New trends in law
• Foreign investment in Latin America
• Overview of Latin American investments in Europe and Asia
• Success stories: transforming crisis into opportunity
• Technology and the practice of law
• New trends in marketing, management and human capital for lawyers
• Legal sector: where we are and where we are going

If you would like to attend the event, you can register here.

If you want to read the full interview in El Tiempo (under registration), click here.