Interview: Jorge Garnier, EY Law Leader for Argentina, on the occasion of the firm’s 10th anniversary

With nearly 25 years of experience advising national and multinational companies, Jorge Garnier has established himself as one of the most recognised figures in the corporate legal market in Argentina and Latin America. He currently leads EY Law for Argentina, a practice he helped build from its launch in 2016 and which today forms part of a regional platform with a multidisciplinary and international approach.

Throughout his career, Jorge has advised on M&A transactions, financings, corporate matters, compliance, antitrust and real estate, while also developing significant experience in the energy sector, particularly in renewable energy. Before joining EY, he worked for more than 12 years at Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi and later as Senior Legal Counsel at Genneia. He was also part of White & Case in New York as an International Attorney.

A professor and director of the postgraduate programme in Corporate Legal Advisory at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Jorge combines a solid professional practice with teaching and a strong strategic vision of the future of business law in the region. In conversation with Latin Counsel, he reflects on leadership, the transformation of the legal market, investment, energy, talent and the challenges of building a regional practice in times of change.

LATIN COUNSEL: This year marks 10 years since the creation of EY Law in Argentina. Looking back, what do you consider to have been the most decisive moment in building the practice?

Jorge Garnier: Throughout this journey there were different moments that we could say were key to the development of the practice. In any case, if there is one decisive moment, I think I identify it at the very beginning, in my first week at the firm, when I received a call from Germany from the global number one of the Legal Services practice, who not only called to welcome me, but also to ask me to build my team with the best people, to look for the best in the market, graduates of the best universities and with high-level prior experience.

He made it clear to me that, globally, this was the mandate followed by the firm in forming EY Law teams. That initial moment allowed me to understand clearly that I was joining a first-rate legal firm that supported the legal business with determination and with the aim of gaining market share and positioning ourselves through the provision of high-quality legal services.

LATIN COUNSEL: When EY proposed that you lead the launch of EY Law in Argentina in 2016, what attracted you most to the challenge and what generated the most uncertainty?

Jorge Garnier: The backing of an organisation that at that time was made up of 250,000 people — and I say at that time because today we are close to 400,000 — the freedom to build a team in the way I considered most appropriate, which was a huge vote of confidence, and at the same time a certain initial client portfolio, obviously generated enormous adrenaline in me, convinced me of the project and moved me to grow it. Obviously, there were uncertainties.

At the beginning, thinking about providing legal services from a Big Four was not something the market was used to, and of course that somehow raised doubts for me regarding the sustainability of the business. Before joining the firm, it was not in my mind that EY could have within it a legal firm with the same capabilities as a traditional law firm. I came to understand this gradually and that allowed me to play on an equal footing with all the traditional players in the market.

There were so many positive and clear signals, both from the rest of my local partners and from regional and global leaders, that everything came together so that the EY Law practice could grow and consolidate. It is clear that the growth and consolidation of the practice would not have been possible without a solid team on which I could rely. In this respect, the role of my partner Pablo Bisogno was fundamental from the beginning; together we shaped the design of this Legal Services practice.

LATIN COUNSEL: Argentina is undergoing a profound process of economic transformation under Javier Milei’s government. From your perspective, how is this new context affecting the investment climate and corporate legal activity?

Jorge Garnier: Argentina is at one of its best historical moments from the perspective of its potential for economic growth. Recent legislative reforms, incentive regimes such as the RIGI and the opening up to the world driven by the strengthening of certain bilateral relationships position the country at a moment that foreign investors should view positively.

Obviously, foreign investors will also need to be given certain guarantees of continuity and internal confidence, and that is where I believe the great challenge lies. All these issues have been having a very positive impact on our legal business.

We had years in which our business was largely focused on corporate liquidation processes or company sales; today, more due diligence processes are strongly re-emerging, generally ending in company acquisitions. While this is more marked in companies in the energy and mining sectors, it is also happening in companies in the technology sector.

LATIN COUNSEL: Do you believe the current Argentine scenario represents an opportunity to reposition the country before international investors?

Jorge Garnier: Absolutely. As I said before, I believe we are at a moment in Argentina where we have everything to gain; it is a matter of doing things well and not wasting opportunities.

LATIN COUNSEL: How would you describe the evolution of the Argentine and regional legal market over the past decade, particularly in relation to integrated legal services?

Jorge Garnier: In 2001, when I started working, the profession was one thing and today it is something completely different. Similar foundations, but different ways of working. In some cases better; in others, I have doubts.

There have been changes that I see as extremely positive and others that I think need to be reconsidered. Technology has been playing an impressive role and must be used to generate more and better opportunities, but without losing or neglecting for even a second technical quality and the personal bond in relationships with our clients and teams.

At EY Law we are seeking improvements every day through the adoption of new technologies and processes. It takes time, but it is something that not only the market demands, but that is also necessary for clients and collaborators to want to continue working with us. Personally, I have become very involved in matters related to legal technology, to the point that, together with other Argentine lawyers, we founded ALTA, the Argentine Legal Tech Association, a civil association that seeks to be a driver in the dissemination, generation and adoption of technological tools applied to the legal world. I like the current state of the profession. I think we are at a good moment, and the challenge I see is for younger lawyers to understand that law is a social science in which the trust created with clients is built through high-quality work and strong, lasting interpersonal relationships.

LATIN COUNSEL: EY Law is characterised by a multidisciplinary approach alongside areas such as tax, audit and transactions. How does this change the way legal advice is provided to companies?

Jorge Garnier: After 10 years providing legal services to clients within a Big Four, my perspective is always comprehensive. Although we are business lawyers and our clients expect legal advice from us, our clients’ business goes far beyond the legal sphere, and that is where I believe we provide our clients with a different perspective.

Team integration at EY is part of our essence as a multidisciplinary firm. Naturally, when assessing a merger from a corporate legal perspective, we bring to the table our colleagues from Tax, who will necessarily have to advise the client on the tax impact of that corporate restructuring or analyse the possibility of it being tax-free.

Something similar happens in due diligence processes, where, in addition to interacting with our Tax colleagues, we add financial teams, who will carry out that decisive part of an M&A process.

The interactions are endless and the examples multiply every day. Today, for example, we are working on a major mining project for one of the leading players in that market together with a Sustainability team made up of sociologists and human resources experts, where we integrate contractual review and negotiation work and regulatory legal matters with the perspective of a team that analyses the impact of the project from a social, environmental and cultural standpoint.

We like to define ourselves as lawyers who understand our clients’ business.

LATIN COUNSEL: You have worked both in traditional law firms, in-house and within a Big Four. What competitive advantages does that combination of experience provide?

Jorge Garnier: I speak all the languages. I learn and have learned a great deal from each experience.

At Bruchou I was trained and learned to be a lawyer from great masters who transmitted to me not only passion, but also superb technical rigour and an outstanding level of client care and attention.

I was able to experience the same thing, but on an international scale, when I worked at White & Case in NYC.

Genneia gave me diversity. I must admit that during the first week of work I did not understand anything and felt very strange, but over the months I was able not only to learn a great deal about renewable energy and the generation business in general, but also to understand that in the business world lawyers are extremely important, but only one more link in a chain made up of countless other very valuable people. Those reality checks I experienced at Genneia allowed me to forge the profile of lawyer I am today as a partner at EY, where, as a professional services firm, the focus is on giving clients a solution that may come from the legal side, but could also come from tax, accounting, processes or a combination of them.

Without doubt, today I am much more open to integrating legal solutions into the rest of my clients’ business, and that definitely makes me a better lawyer.

LATIN COUNSEL:. After nearly 25 years advising national and multinational companies, what qualities do you believe distinguish a truly strategic corporate lawyer today?

Jorge Garnier: Their level of specialisation, without doubt, but even more so their creativity and curiosity and, above all, their level of knowledge of the client’s business. That creates trust.

Today, technology challenges us to be better and more differentiated every day. What is common, what is standardised, technology will possibly end up doing better than we do. What is specific, sophisticated and disruptive is what will make the difference and turn us into strategic and trusted legal advisers.

If, looking your client in the eye, you say "this is the way to go" and your client trusts you, at that moment you have already become a truly strategic lawyer. It takes time, but it is achievable.

LATIN COUNSEL: Much of your career has been linked to the energy sector and especially to renewable energy. How do you assess the evolution of that market in Argentina and Latin America?

Jorge Garnier: A lot has been done, but there is still quite a lot left to do. In our country in particular, we could say that between 2017 and 2022 renewable projects reached their peak. Today, the growth of projects in this sector has slowed, and the sector is also not a priority on the government’s agenda. In any case, there are many resources to be developed and many opportunities.

There is a major challenge: on the one hand, improving transmission capacity is crucial and, on the other, more attractive financing for the sector could be factors that, once harmonised, would allow growth opportunities to be seen again. An important point for Argentina and the region is that the main global market players continue to bet on the country and on neighbouring countries.

LATIN COUNSEL: You worked as an International Attorney at White & Case in New York between 2010 and 2011. What international lessons most profoundly shaped your professional vision?

Jorge Garnier: I was already fairly set in my ways, and my time in New York reaffirmed my level of commitment to excellence and dedication to clients. The client at the centre, which is something that today at EY Law we have as our guiding principle, was something that at White & Case was experienced as natural and intrinsic to the design of everyone who worked for the organisation. Being clear that the client expects from us the best legal product and that we are always attentive to provide the response they may need.

LATIN COUNSEL: What cultural and business differences did you find between the practice of corporate law in the United States and in Latin America?

Jorge Garnier: I was lucky enough to always work in firms that, even when local, operated with international standards. In that sense, I do not see major differences from a business perspective. Perhaps Americans, at an earlier age, can be a little more commercially aggressive. Obviously, culturally we are different. I do not want to create controversy here, but at least Latinos are more inclined to create personal bonds around professional relationships. That was perhaps not so natural there.

LATIN COUNSEL: What originally motivated you to study law and become a lawyer?

Jorge Garnier: I started studying law perhaps with the prospect of later pursuing a diplomatic career. I was always very interested in international affairs, politics, and so on. That initial romanticism changed when I took my first steps as a paralegal at Bruchou and later consolidated itself when I became an associate. I began to see the practice of corporate law, especially everything related to transactional work, as something that motivated me and from which I learned a great deal, and little by little I became passionate about it.

LATIN COUNSEL: Which people have been most decisive in your professional and personal development?

Jorge Garnier: Without doubt, my family has always been my support. First my parents and then my wife and children. They have always seen that I do what I do with passion and that I enjoy it, and for that reason they not only always accept it, but also support and encourage me.

As for my professional training, I learned mainly from two geniuses, with different styles and ways of working, but with a commitment to excellence and client care that had a major impact on me. At university there was also a professor, now deceased, who was always a guide and source of support, both when I was studying and also, very especially, once I had graduated and throughout my professional career.

LATIN COUNSEL: In a highly demanding professional environment, how do you manage to maintain a balance between work and family life?

Jorge Garnier: I do what I can. I try to make my weekends 100% for my family, seeking to be involved in the kids’ activities and avoiding neglecting enjoyment with my wife and friends. I like inviting and receiving people at home. I consider myself a good host and Pauli, my wife, supports me enormously with this and with everything.

LATIN COUNSEL: How does EY Law work to attract and develop young talent in an increasingly competitive and changing market?

Jorge Garnier: Training, career opportunities, technology, benefits, flexibility, and so on. It is a huge challenge that is updated every day, but one on which we cannot rest. Our goal as leaders is for young people to choose our firm for their training and to be able to find a reason to stay.

In the particular case of lawyers, something they value highly when working at EY Law is the opportunity to work together with other professionals and provide clients with joint solutions. Seeing lawyers work together with systems engineers, lawyers with communications graduates, among others, is something that attracts younger professionals and that they value.

All these efforts are reflected in the fact that every year we improve our positioning in Great Place to Work and in the very low turnover we have as a firm and as a Legal Services team in particular.

LATIN COUNSEL: In addition to being a partner at EY, you are a professor and director of a postgraduate programme at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. What does teaching bring to your professional practice?

Jorge Garnier: It is a spectacular thermometer for understanding where changes in the profession are heading and where one needs to focus. Students immediately show you if you are falling behind, and that is fantastic.

In my case, the postgraduate programme I direct is aimed at young lawyers with a few years of experience. They greatly value what we as professors can tell them about professional experience, and for professors, being able in some way to train the next generation of lawyers, with everything that entails, is a great responsibility. I love university teaching and I have no doubt that when I have more time I will try to take on even more hours at the university. I enjoy it a lot.

LATIN COUNSEL: What advice would you give today to new generations of lawyers beginning their careers in an environment marked by technology, economic uncertainty and constant regulatory change?

Jorge Garnier: Be curious, try to learn from the experiences that professional practice gives you, and never stop studying. Specialise, research, write, read books. All of that adds a great deal and allows you to be better prepared to be a lawyer who can provide advice that is not standardised, but has added value. I do not mention technology specifically because the new generations were already born with technology and it is present in every aspect of their lives.

LATIN COUNSEL: You have also carried out pro bono work both in Argentina and in the United States. What impact did that experience have on your view of the legal profession?

Jorge Garnier: It is one of those privileges that the profession gives you. Sometimes we do not fully grasp the number of doors that our law degree can open.

In pro-bono work, this becomes very clear when you help an asylum seeker obtain an immigration visa; when you help a mother who suffered violence improve her own protection and that of her children through a restraining order; when you draft the bylaws of a civil association that seeks to be an agent of social change in socially marginalised communities, and so on.

On the other hand, you learn to work collaboratively with professionals of the highest professional level from other firms, where sharing knowledge is the common denominator. Pro-bono work is something that undoubtedly elevates you as a lawyer and not only makes you a better lawyer, but also a much better person. I always tell the lawyers who work with me: do not miss the privilege of doing pro bono legal work.

LATIN COUNSEL: Outside work, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy most and how do they help you disconnect from professional demands?

Jorge Garnier: I try to do quite a lot of sport. I train three times a week, play tennis and padel, and help out as a manager in my youngest son’s rugby division. In those moments I rest a great deal mentally and that helps me recharge to face difficult workdays.

I am also a person of faith and for some years now I have been helping organise spiritual retreats for men over 35 at my local parish. That spiritual dimension helps you a great deal to find balance and try to put each thing in its place, beyond generating great friendships.

LATIN COUNSEL: If you had not been a lawyer, what other profession do you think you would have pursued?

Jorge Garnier: International Relations, Political Science or Journalism, surely.