At the beginning of the year, the first Legal Hackathon for companies in Peru was organized in conjunction with Laboratoria, a social enterprise that originated in Peru and has expanded to Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. The excellent results of this first local event and the innovative format led to interest from law firms such as Barros & Errázuriz (Chile), Gómez-Pinzón (Colombia), Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes (Mexico), and Miranda & Amado (Peru), who wanted to replicate it in their respective jurisdictions. This is how the idea for the first Legal Hackathon in Latin America was born.
“The current Legal Hackathon stems from the experience we had earlier this year in Peru. When we launched this initiative on a large scale, the response from companies was overwhelmingly positive, and all the available spots quickly filled up. At Affinitas, the network considered the most prominent in the region due to the prestige of its member firms—all from the leading economies of the Pacific Alliance—we wanted to replicate this experience. We based our approach on the needs in Peru, which are very similar to those in other countries, and that’s how we brought this regional project to fruition,” said Felipe Gamboa, Director of Legal Innovation at Miranda & Amado.
“We had the opportunity to learn about the experience because it was promoted by Miranda & Amado, a firm that is part of the Affinitas network, of which we are a member. Since it was so successful and innovative, we were interested in replicating it in Chile and adding Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, in partnership with Laboratoria, which also has a presence in these four countries,” explained Sergio Eguiguren, partner at Barros & Errázuriz.
“The idea originated in Miranda and we adopted it in the other countries of the Affinitas network. To date, there are no precedents for events with these characteristics,” said Ignacio Armida Beguerisse, partner at Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, SC
This first regional Legal Hackathon, convened and organized by Affinitas and Laboratoria, a Latin American organization that promotes technological development and innovation, is a space where the legal departments of different companies will solve technological challenges that will improve the experience of internal users.
“It’s an invitation to contribute to digital transformation from within the legal departments of companies. The process involves identifying an opportunity for improvement in a department, which is then taken up by B&E in conjunction with Laboratoria, to develop a concrete, technology-driven solution that is implemented in the company. This format was chosen because it fosters teamwork, the search for concrete solutions, healthy competition, and the possibility of obtaining results within a limited timeframe,” said Sergio Eguiguren.
For her part, Juanita Pérez Botero, partner in the Intellectual Property area at Gómez-Pinzón Abogados, explained that they chose the Legal Hackathon format “firstly because GPA has been investing in and committed to the digitalization and innovation of legal services for many years. We firmly believe that legal services must be at the forefront of what the world and businesses demand, and this means moving away from the stereotypes that generally surround the provision of legal services, from imagining lawyers as very stiff, very closed-minded, very serious. What we want is to promote legal services that are at the same level of innovation as the companies that are ultimately our clients.”
How will the Legal Hackathon modernize and drive innovation in legal departments? What will it contribute?
Felipe Gamboa (Miranda & Amado-Peru): “On the one hand, the event fosters a culture of innovation. Each legal department faces a challenge specific to its business. Each firm underwent an initial training phase that provided them with the tools to identify how a digital solution could add value to their problem. This phase, which precedes the actual development of a solution, helps create lawyers who are more open to detecting problems rather than rushing to a solution. In this event, participants are part of an interdisciplinary team of designers and programmers from Laboratoria. Being part of a group like this, which also works with agile methodologies, undoubtedly develops and further strengthens this culture of innovation. Through this Legal Hackathon, a problem that is currently a pain point for the legal department and internal clients will be identified. Then, this problem will be addressed by an interdisciplinary team to find a solution that adds value in a very short timeframe. This helps shift the paradigm of resistance to change that is so often encountered.” “They are found in some types of lawyers.”
Sergio Eguiguren (Barros & Errázuriz-Chile): “The incorporation and adaptation to new technologies has become a key aspect for the legal sector. This legal Hackathon aims to ensure that the solutions delivered by the talented women trained by Laboratoria are user-centered and address their real needs. It is a comprehensive experience designed to strengthen the skills of leading legal managers through the development of a digital product focused on internal client satisfaction and improving the efficiency of the legal department.”
In the era of digital transformation, all companies face the challenge of adapting to the changing times. Innovation has moved beyond IT departments and now permeates every unit of a company. Legal departments are no exception. Although most legal offices have not traditionally focused on these issues, we want to encourage them to address legal challenges through technology and innovation. We want to motivate them to think outside the box. Many large companies are undergoing significant transformation processes, and we aim to enable legal departments to add greater value to the company by showcasing their work and driving modernization from within these departments.
Ignacio Armida Beguerisse (Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, SC-Mexico): “The fact that companies are interested in participating in events like this makes it clear that these are legal departments with a genuine interest in innovation. For me, this is beneficial; the topic of legal technology will begin to be discussed more openly. The example set by the participating companies will be important so that more and more companies join in subsequent editions. These outreach initiatives that we provide through media outlets like Líder Legal make innovation a topic of conversation, something that is on everyone’s lips, and raise awareness among legal departments.”
We live in a new reality caused by a pandemic… has this “new normal” driven digital transformation in legal services?
Ignacio Armida Beguerisse (Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, SC-Mexico) : “These needs are not due to the pandemic. I believe that the need for technological updating has always existed, and what the pandemic has done is accelerate the requirement for that innovation. Perhaps the pandemic demands that some technological tools be implemented more rapidly than others, for example, the issue of having these videoconferences or teleworking.”
Sergio Eguiguren (Barros & Errázuriz-Chile): “The pandemic has reinforced the need to accelerate digital transformation, making the needs of different sectors to modify methodologies, tools, and ways of working more visible. Today, more than ever, it is important to address the challenges of these areas with a 100% technological perspective, focused on generating innovative solutions that aim for efficiency and are in line with the strategic objectives of each company.”
Juanita Pérez Botero (Gómez-Pinzón Abogados – Colombia): “The pandemic was a very important wake-up call because those who weren’t ready, those who hadn’t started down this path of digital and technological transformation, have found it very difficult to adapt to this new normal. Sometimes it takes a very harsh wake-up call to understand that we must make a change. I think that what the situation has done is finally convince all those who were skeptical that technology is here to stay and that we have to change our mindset. They absolutely have to transform, they absolutely have to change their mindset, they absolutely have to get on board with technology. For some, it’s not a matter of added value but of being able to provide the minimum service; those who don’t transform themselves technologically will not survive and will not be able to provide basic services. The pandemic has presented us with very difficult challenges to overcome, but if there is anything positive to take from all of this, it is the wake-up call that we must embark on this path of transformation.”
Felipe Gamboa (Miranda & Amado-Peru): “They were already happening, but they accelerated with the pandemic. In fact, when we launched the first Hackathon at the beginning of the year, it was for a physical, in-person environment. Then the pandemic hit, and after a few weeks of uncertainty, we didn’t know if we were going to postpone the event, but what we did was adapt to a remote format, which helped a lot and laid the foundation for the one we are holding today.”
This event stems from a need, but if we talk about those digital transformation needs that the legal sector in Latin America urgently requires… what would they be?
Felipe Gamboa (Miranda & Amado-Peru): “First, companies and their legal departments cannot afford to fall behind in the transformation processes taking place within businesses. A legal department in any company, regardless of the sector, doesn’t live in a bubble; it’s a company that thrives on transformation. There’s a need to keep pace with these digital transformation processes, and we offer this solution to address that need: a comprehensive open innovation experience. Second, legal departments are already experiencing the challenge of delivering more value with fewer resources—the famous ‘more for less’ challenge. Third, the need is to be able to work collaboratively in a digital environment, shifting away from the traditional image of the lawyer as solely a risk detector and embracing the opportunities that arise when we open ourselves up to collaborating with professionals from other disciplines.”
Sergio Eguiguren (Barros & Errázuriz-Chile): “The main challenge at the Latin American level is to leverage technology to support different functions, such as the possibility of automating many of its processes, for example, the management of legal services with external providers; management and administration of contracts; administration, revocation and granting of powers of attorney; information management; information structure; relationship with internal clients, and digitization of corporate acts.
In recent years, many enabling tools have emerged, such as blockchain, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and big data, facilitating the implementation of solutions that legal departments can apply. These tools allow companies to address various challenges, such as structuring data for different business purposes and better aligning legal departments with the company’s strategic challenges and the pace of its legal support needs.
Juanita Pérez Botero (Gómez-Pinzón Abogados – Colombia): “I think the main problems lie in the issues of inefficiencies and setbacks. User departments have a lot of difficulty understanding legal processes, and when they request a service or ask something of the legal department, they don’t receive complete information, which causes significant delays. This is replicated and ends up being a difficult experience for both the user, who doesn’t receive what they need in a timely manner, and the legal department. The idea is to help bring the legal department closer to these users and for results to be faster.”
Ignacio Armida Beguerisse (Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, SC- Mexico): “The general need is to integrate technological processes into companies’ legal departments. Legal departments sometimes lag behind other areas because they are often seen as areas within companies that don’t generate value since they don’t have a need for technological transformation. I believe it’s necessary to identify the requirements in the different legal areas and highlight how updating and innovation in the legal field can bring an overall benefit to the company. These general needs translate into specific needs for the companies participating in the Hackathon. We will have different tools that will be generated within the Hackathon environment, which will address these specific needs. Some prefer that they help them manage their contacts, permissions, or stay up-to-date with changes in applicable regulations. They are different needs, but all will be resolved through technology and innovation.”
This Legal Hackathon has three stages. The first is training for in-house lawyers, in which the four firms, along with Laboratoria, prepared and generated curated content designed to equip in-house lawyers with the tools to face the final challenge. This first stage took place between October 26 and 28. The second stage involves advising on defining the company’s challenge. Working sessions were held between Laboratoria, the companies, and the firms over a period of two to three weeks to support each company in defining the problem that will add the most value. This stage took place from October 29 to November 13. The third and main stage runs from November 23 to 27; this is the week of the Hackathon. Each company will have a team comprised of mentors from the Affinitas firms and Laboratoria graduates.
Based on the above, what results did these initial activities yield? How many companies are participating?
Ignacio Armida Beguerisse (Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, SC- Mexico): “All the previous stages were preparation for the grand finale of the Hackathon week. During the final, the teams will work under pressure and within a set timeframe to develop their tools. Prior to the event, to be ready for that week, we conducted preparatory exercises so that the teams from the 20 participating companies could identify the challenge they would be tackling during the Hackathon. It wasn’t just about identifying the challenge, but also about figuring out how to begin thinking about the solution. To that end, we held a couple of workshops: one focused on technology and the digital age, and another focused on implementing technology in internal legal departments for clients or stakeholders. The truth is, those two workshops were very successful; we had a high level of participation and interaction.”
Sergio Eguiguren (Barros & Errázuriz-Chile): “In this first stage, the challenge was to encourage participating companies to fully engage in this Legal Hackathon. We are very pleased with the great reception we have received throughout Latin America. Legal departments value the idea of contributing a fresh perspective from the world of technology to review and optimize their internal processes. They are as enthusiastic as we are about this unprecedented initiative that challenges the way things are done today and invites us to rethink them through the tech contributions of women trained by Laboratoria. They are also enthusiastic about the idea of promoting the inclusion of women with technological expertise in the labor market.”
Twenty companies participated regionally, with representatives from Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. In Chile, eight leading companies in their respective industries are participating: the legal departments of Banco de Chile, Falabella, Agrosuper, Colbún, Banco Estado, Accenture, AES Gener, and Walmart. These companies will work with the teams from Barros & Errázuriz and Laboratoria to implement solutions tailored to each one’s needs.
Juanita Pérez Botero (Gómez-Pinzón Abogados – Colombia): “ The process has been very interesting. The methodology is completely different from how we lawyers work. This process starts from uncertainty; it’s about accepting that we can’t have everything under control from the beginning, that we won’t be able to have everything defined from the start, that we won’t be able to have everything calculated down to the millimeter as we lawyers generally work. The most challenging aspect of this stage is the shock, the confrontation with a methodology that takes us out of our daily routine. It’s more about saying, ‘Let’s identify our problem and define the challenge we want to solve,’ without being able to control all the variables. We must be clear that things will arise, but we will resolve them. The fact that we don’t have everything clear and defined doesn’t mean the result won’t be successful. That’s the most challenging thing for firms and companies: looking at themselves, identifying the problem, and figuring out how to solve it. In each session, we saw progress, although there’s certainly still a long way to go. There’s still a long way to go, and it’s very interesting to see how a legal department has set aside those traditional paradigms to do things differently. We are very pleased with what has been built so far.”
What are the expectations that you have in relation to this event, what do you expect at the end of these weeks?
Juanita Pérez Botero (Gómez-Pinzón Abogados – Colombia): “Ultimately, the main objective is to have helped and contributed to the digital transformation of legal services. I believe that having participated and been an active part of this process, which we are supporting to ensure that this digital transformation in the legal sector takes place, is a tremendous benefit. Furthermore, it consolidates our position and our alliance, which is fully committed to the advancements of embracing digital transformation and technology, which undoubtedly has arrived to stay now more than ever.”
Sergio Eguiguren (Barros & Errázuriz-Chile): “We are interested in supporting our clients and the companies participating in the tech challenge they face. We seek to add value and contribute to broadening perspectives on how to address the challenges of legal areas in this digital age. We are also interested in promoting the participation of women in the technology sector, creating opportunities for them to work closely with companies.”
Finally, we are motivated by the idea that the legal sector as a whole can play a leading role in digital transformation and that more companies will discover its value. We hope that this first edition will generate significant interest among legal departments and that we can hold another Legal Hackathon in the future.”
Ignacio Armida Beguerisse (Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, SC- Mexico): “At the end of the day, we organize this as an event to which we can invite our clients. They are getting involved in technological updates because they have a genuine interest in these topics. The event will undoubtedly solidify our relationship with our clients. And equally important is that we are helping and contributing to Laboratoria’s objectives, which is to promote the integration of low-income women into the workforce.”
Felipe Gamboa (Miranda & Amado-Peru): “This event is important for us because the transformation taking place in the legal industry shouldn’t be something we just watch happen; we need to lead it. For us, it’s an opportunity to learn what legal departments are currently thinking and to discover the best practices being implemented in companies similar to our own. This greatly helps us improve the service we can offer. Finally, an event like this fosters a culture of innovation and integration both regionally and internally.”
And precisely one of the premises of the event is the integration of low-income women into the technological workforce. How do you expect to achieve this?
Felipe Gamboa (Miranda & Amado-Peru): “Laboratoria is a social enterprise that promotes a digital economy. It arose from the observation that the gender gap in the technology market is greater than in other industries. Women were unable to find work, and with the vision of eliminating this gender gap and giving more opportunities to this talent, Laboratoria was born. Laboratoria trains women with technological skills. Through bootcamps in web development and design, Laboratoria prepares them and seeks to place them in the job market. Miranda is a firm that employs this talent; we currently have three Laboratoria graduates.”
Sergio Eguiguren (Barros & Errázuriz-Chile): “This project has a very relevant social component because it promotes job training for women in the technology sector and their subsequent integration into the labor market. Laboratoria’s experience has been tremendously successful in this work at a regional level. This includes women from different backgrounds and socioeconomic levels.”
Ignacio Armida Beguerisse (Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, SC- Mexico): “Laboratoria aims to train women with programs to work in the technology sector. Once they complete their training, they are expected to find employment with a company. On the one hand, the Hackathon gives them the opportunity to put the knowledge they acquired in these courses into practice, and at the same time, there is a possibility that one of the participating companies might offer a job to the Laboratoria graduates. There is no guarantee that this will happen, nor is there any obligation on the part of the company to hire them or the recruitment agencies to place them, but it does provide them with some visibility and exposure.”
Finally, we asked the experts what challenges legal departments will face in 2021 regarding digital transformation and innovation. In conclusion, they responded as follows:
“The challenge will be having learned the lesson that 2020 taught us: that we must be involved in this. Those who haven’t started yet must do so as soon as possible because it’s a matter of survival. It’s essential to understand that this isn’t something that arose because of the pandemic; it must be part of our DNA and part of the essence of the service we provide,” concluded Juanita Pérez Botero of Gómez-Pinzón Abogados.
For his part, Sergio Eguiguren of Barros & Errázuriz stated that “organizations are experiencing significant changes in their way of working and the speed at which they must move to adapt to a changing environment, which has been accentuated by the pandemic. Legal departments have the opportunity to contribute in this direction.”
Meanwhile, Felipe Gamboa of Miranda & Amado said that the biggest challenge is “the challenge of doing more with less, in how to cope with the workload and volume. For the specialist, another major challenge is how to create that space to think strategically and not succumb to the routine of the urgent. It is a great challenge for legal departments to create that space for organizational introspection and to identify their processes.”
