Legal Operations Consulting: A mirror to look at

VíasChile, holding of concessional highways, used the solution of Legal Operations Consulting de Alster. Andrés López, Director of Legal Advisory and Compliance, tells what motivated the consultation and the value generated by the consulting.

"I am afraid of the calm waters, when they tell you that everything is going very well. One does not have a mirror to look at and believes that everything he does is fine," says Andrés López, Director of Legal Advice and Compliance of VíasChile. This concern led him to approach Alster to assess the legal area, know its gaps and how to manage them.

VíasChile chose to hire the service Legal Operations Consulting of Alsterour consulting service that allows the legal team to get a focused look at the optimization of its operational model.

"I wanted a specialized consultancy, not a global process," López explains. The clear message from the Alster, its knowledge of the sector and its conviction of the added value of the legal area at the operational level.

"The legal direction is a lonely position. Alster comes to respond to the solitude of the legal directors and consulting allows to rethink the criterion itself, "he adds.

The goal of López at the beginning of the work with Alster was to grow as a direction and enhance its function within the company. In addition, VíasChile was going through a fusion process, which was beneficial to have an external entity's assessment.

López states that the main value generated by Alster It was the diagnosis. "The day by day consumes you. This allows you to adopt another perspective, interview stakeholders and customers. From the analysis I got the road map, I learned the 'ideal' and how to manage imperfections," he adds.

Consulting reveals the 'duty to be', but also weaknesses and solutions, and advantages or best practices to incorporate. The aim, finally, is to establish long-term processes.

"Every time, it is good to stop and review what state we are in," López says. "One trusts in his judgment and good decisions, and that can be a trap. It is always necessary to know what the ideal would be, where we are failing and how to optimize processes."