Legal leaders, general counsel, and legal and compliance officers from companies with operations in Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States gathered at the 12th Legal Management Forum Lima 2026, held at the Los Tallanes Hotel & Suites in San Isidro. The event, organized by Gericó Associates, was sponsored by DLA Piper, Akerman, CMS Grau, Porto Legal, Rodríguez Angobaldo Abogados, and Jurex. With this Lima event, the Forum concluded its 2026 calendar, which this year included editions in Monterrey, Miami, Bogotá, and Mexico City.
The agenda was organized into five panels. The day began with an analysis of the new risk landscape facing legal departments, from cyberattacks and artificial intelligence to directors’ liability, reputational crises, and business interruption.
The second panel shifted the discussion to infrastructure, energy, and natural resource projects, focusing on sustainability and the social license to operate. Leonardo Berrío Chamorro, Secretary General and General Counsel of ESENTTIA, participated in this session: “During the session, the panelists discussed the challenges facing the Latin American region with new infrastructure and energy projects, especially those related to regulatory changes, climate change, competition, and other factors.”
The third block of the morning, dedicated to automation and its implications for legal areas, focused on the governance of artificial intelligence, data privacy, and digital resilience.
The panel on disputes, arbitration, and strategic dispute management brought together conflict resolution experts to discuss dispute prevention, international arbitration, and dispute boards. Małgorzata (Gosia) Judkiewicz-Garvan, president of the Arbitration Council of the Ancash Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Center, summarized her main takeaway: “The key takeaway is that, before resorting to arbitration, companies and their in-house lawyers must assess their objective: to reach a dispute or to maintain the business relationship in the long term.”
Predictive compliance was also on the agenda. Andrea Mon, Global Director of Ethics and Compliance at Del Monte Corporation, explained: “The main takeaway from preparing for and participating in the panel is that compliance shouldn’t be limited to identifying risks or breaches, but must also build a structure that allows for anticipating potential risks. To achieve this, it’s necessary to integrate preventive and reactive compliance, so that both contribute to developing a predictive compliance model.”
The day concluded with a reflection on the role of the General Counsel within the company and the new models of legal management that act as strategic business partners.
From the partners’ perspective, Martín Ferreira of Jurex highlighted the value of the event in gaining firsthand knowledge of the sector’s needs: “I find it invaluable to be able to hear directly from the key players in the corporate legal market, as understanding their main needs and challenges is fundamental for us. Our mission is to facilitate the work of lawyers and offer solutions to their problems. Therefore, I believe this event, as well as its future editions, is essential for us to continue growing alongside them.”
Within the framework of the Forum, Gericó Associates celebrated at La Rosa Náutica in Lima the first edition of the Legal Leadership Awards Lima 2026, an initiative that recognizes the leadership of those who manage the legal areas of the main companies in the country and the region.
José Delmar, legal manager of Integratel Peru and one of the award recipients in this first edition, highlighted the purpose of the initiative: “The idea of recognizing the leaders of the top legal departments in Peru seems extraordinary to me. I believe that those who were awarded received well-deserved recognition. They are all brilliant lawyers with outstanding careers. I consider this first group of award winners to be very representative of the best legal departments in Peru, especially those of companies that are also among the most complex to manage and have great strategic importance.”
For his part, Arnold Castillo, director of Secretariat, praised the gala as a continuation of the previous day: “The gala was an excellent complement to Wednesday’s events. For legal managers, these forums provide an updated perspective on the evolution of their role and the responsibilities they must assume in the face of new business scenarios and challenges: cybersecurity, security, compliance, artificial intelligence, among others. I believe that these types of forums are essential for companies that want to stay current and, especially, for General Counsel, who must anticipate changes, understand their implications, and assume an increasingly strategic role within their organizations.”
Viviana García, a partner at ECIJA, agreed with the positive assessment: “I think the general perception is that the event was a success. It was a success from the turnout, the design, the venue, and the warm welcome extended to everyone who joined this new space within the legal community. I think Gericó organized it wonderfully. They’ve created a space where legal managers can openly discuss things with partners and exchange diverse opinions on how to navigate our profession in challenging times. Everything unfolded in an environment that allowed ideas to flow freely and made those of us who didn’t know each other feel like we’d known each other for years.”
