Exploring the Tech Revolution in the Legal Landscape: Key Insights From IBA LATAM Regional Forum Conference in Cartagena

The International Bar Association’s IBA LATAM Regional Forum Conference in Cartagena held from March 22 to March 24 was a resounding success. Attendees from around the world gathered to discuss about the challenges for the legal industry in the digital age, with an emphasis on the technology, social media and artificial intelligence landscape in LATAM.

The different plenary sessions and breakout sessions focused on the influence of technology on the legal practice from various perspectives. For example, some sessions covered the exponential growth, acceleration and abundance of technological development that has been the base for the conception and construction of legal regulation. Another session explored the impact, value and challenges of data as an asset on the legal services market. A further session focused on the challenge of data protection in an increasingly data-driven world within the terms of regulation, investigation and emblematic legal cases.

As in one of the breakout session it was mentioned "Tech or no tech? There is NO question", because there is no industry immune to the development of technology. Precisely, the justice system is not an exception, and another breakout session explored various technological innovations that have been adopted across LATAM to improve the functioning of the rule of the law.

In sync with this tech perspective, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently issued its March 2023 update on the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, the primary changes of which are under the headings “Compensation Structures and Consequence Management” and “Investigation of Misconduct.”¹ In particular, the “Investigation of Misconduct” section emphasizes on the importance of the corporation’s policies and procedures in governing the use of technology in communication channels. The updates stated that “messaging applications have become ubiquitous in many markets and offer important platforms for companies to achieve growth and facilitate communication.” As the DOJ highlighted, policies governing these technology tools should be tailored to the corporation’s risk profile and specific business needs to ensure best practices, in addition to including a criteria on risk management and security and control over the communication channels, as bring your own device (BYOD) and messaging applications.

In general terms, technology, data resources and access to compliance professionals will be one of the key parameters to determine if a compliance program is properly resourced and empowered to function effectively. The use of agile systems, integrating automation and smart technologies into compliance programs will allow the compliance professionals to be in line with the rule of the law and even more with the new DOJ Standards.

Overall, the IBA conference in Cartagena provided a valuable platform to think about the influence of technology on the legal landscape, and it was also an invitation to transfer these concerns and explorations to other industries that are undeniably permeated by the same phenomenon, such as compliance.

¹Data Resources and Access, Autonomy and Resources, “Guidance on Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” released in July 2020 by U.S. Department of Justice, p. 12.
²The Role of Smart Technologies in Data-Driven Compliance Programs, Corporate Compliance Insights, December 4, 2020 https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/smart-technologies-data-driven-compliance-programs/#_ftn4