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Carey hosts the First Latin American Legal Marketing Forum, gathering the Elite of the sector in the region · Latin Counsel
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Carey hosts the First Latin American Legal Marketing Forum, gathering the Elite of the sector in the region
More than 100 legal sector professionals from Latin America gathered in Santiago, Chile , at the offices of Carey , the country’s largest law firm, to attend the First Latin American Legal Marketing and Business Development Forum: Transforming How Law Firms Grow .
More than 100 legal sector professionals from Latin America gathered in Santiago, Chile, at the offices of Carey, the country’s largest law firm, to attend the First Latin American Legal Marketing and Business Development Forum: Transforming How Law Firms Grow. This unprecedented event, organized by the Ibero-American Association of Legal Communications and Marketing (AICMJ) and the LMBD Latam network, aimed to reflect on how marketing and business development are driving the strategic growth of law firms. The forum brought together professionals from Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Colombia, and Costa Rica, among other countries, marking a milestone in the professionalization of legal marketing in the Latin American region. Magdalena Engel, Communications, Marketing, and Business Development Manager at Carey and director of the AICMJ, highlighted that the meeting seeks to "build bridges" between the visions of partners, support teams, and clients, with the purpose of building a solid professional community that raises the standards of the discipline. The day began with the workshop "Legal Design Lab: Redesigning Law with Creativity", led by Angélica Flechas, founder and CEO of HÁPTICA. The workshop applied the Legal Service Design methodology combined with prompting and artificial intelligence to redesign real legal documents, demonstrating how "creativity and empathy" generate more human and efficient solutions. Subsequently, Romina Buso, Business Development Manager for Latin America at
"From overhead cost to strategic growth driver: The strategic role of business development"
.
Buso
urged attendees to consider the experiences of the
US
and
Europe
"as a window to the future" to anticipate trends. She underscored the need to clearly define the role of marketing and business development areas to avoid administrative tasks that do not add strategic value. Furthermore, she emphasized that talent is the "backbone" of firms and warned about the impact of artificial intelligence, which requires firms to adapt, incorporate technology, and offer differentiated proposals. Finally, she stressed the importance of strengthening relationships with priority clients through personalized service and exploring new avenues for generating opportunities through practice group cross-selling, specific matters, and the alumni network.
Buso
concluded that "business development is no longer a support area, but a strategic driver" and that the cultural shift toward integrated management is "irreversible."
The forum concluded with the panel
"From the other side of the desk: what legal managers want and need"
, moderated by
Pablo Iacobelli
, Managing Partner at
Carey
, and featuring legal managers
Gonzalo Smith
(
Falabella
),
Macarena Vargas
(
Codelco
), and
Natalia Jiménez
(
Crystal Lagoons
).
Iacobelli
emphasized that "listening directly to clients is an exercise of immense value" for generating trust and building more strategic relationships.
The
General Counsels
(legal advisory directors) addressed the evolution of their role, which is increasingly strategic, making the support of external firms essential. They agreed that they especially value agility, quality, transparency, compliance with initial commitments, and a clear sense of accountability. The most appreciated external lawyers are those who understand the business, the value chain, and the challenges of the sector. In crisis situations, they value availability, speed, transparency, and the proximity of those willing to work "side by side." They also pointed out that corporate reputation and third-party references carry more weight than self-promotion by the firms, as they represent an objective validation of their quality and reliability.
Alejandra Rojas
, co-founder of
LMBD Latam
and Partner at
Upwyse
, along with
Monica Malcotti
, co-founder of
LMBD
and Business Development Director at
BLP
, praised the attendance, highlighting that the maturity of the marketing and BD areas in
Latin America
reveals a "new generation of professionals who understand legal management from a perspective of strategy, innovation, and business impact."
The event concluded with a networking breakfast-lunch, which allowed for the strengthening of ties between teams from different countries and the opening of new regional collaboration opportunities.
LMBD (Legal Marketing & Business Development Latam)
is a community of business development (BD), marketing, and communication professionals in the legal sector in
Latin America
. It was founded by a distinguished group of professionals:
Eugenia Sermeño
(Business Development & Chief Marketing Officer at
Arias
),
Mónica Malcotti
(Business Development Director at
BLP
),
Marisol Saravia Aguirre
(Marketing and Business Development Manager at
Echecopar
) and
Alejandra Rojas Castañeda
(founder of
UpWyse Legal Marketing
).
AICMJ
is a community of communication and marketing professionals from business law firms in Spanish-speaking countries who join forces to share knowledge and improve the specialty. It was founded by
