Canadian Lawyer InHouse

NOVEMBER 2017 40 INHOUSE P r o f e s s i o n a l P r o f i l e AS A YOUNG WOMAN in Argentina, Matilde Corbacho had her heart set on a ca- reer as a diplomat. As in-house counsel for international oil company Parex Resources Inc., she flexes her legal muscle while bring- ing the grace of diplomacy to the table. Corbacho acquired a Civil Law degree in Argentina followed by an LLM in Corpo- rate Law at NYU School of Law in 2000. She returned to practice in Argentina, but she was selected in 2004 for a position as foreign legal counsel at Talisman Energy Inc. (now Repsol) in Calgary. She complet - ed her Certificate of Qualification with the National Committee on Accreditation in 2012 and in 2013 was one of the first South American lawyers called to the bar of the Law Society of Alberta. She joined Parex Resources as legal and commercial man - ager in 2014. "When I joined Parex, the company had already demonstrated its technical and op- erational success," says Corbacho. "It knew how to locate and profitably develop oil re- sources. I felt I could provide a better un- derstanding of its contractual obligations. I liked the idea of combining legal and com- mercial responsibilities for them. The typi- cal lawyer is more likely to say 'no' to a lot of things, but someone with a more commer- cial view can help you get to 'yes.'" Parex is a publicly listed oil and gas com- pany with offices operating in Colombia and Canada. Its efforts are focused on crude oil exploration, development and produc- tion in Colombia. Corbacho's fluidity in both Spanish and English are critical skills, in addition to her mastery of the civil law of the type practised in Colombia. "When I tell people that all of the assets of my company are located in Colombia, they ask me if I've seen Narcos on Netflix," says Corbacho. "Colombia is nothing like that and has emerged as one of the most sta - ble countries in South America. It also has a strong tradition of respecting the rule of law. All of our legal dealings are very profes- sional and I've never experienced any form of corruption in its government agencies." As counsel in Calgary, Corbacho is re- quired to address all legal issues for the company, ranging from those raised by entry-level employees to management. She is regularly consulted by Parex's executive team on strategic decisions and is called in on most management meetings, not only to identify current legal concerns but also to anticipate future risk inherent in contracts. "I try to do a lot of preventive legal work," she says. She's also helped to identify communica - tion risks during the drafting of documents in arbitration and has trained Parex man- agement and team leaders to both identify and negotiate potential pitfalls. Corbacho is responsible for all of the company's legal operations in both coun- tries. She handles duties in the company's Calgary office with the assistance of a junior lawyer who is a native Colombian. The le- gal team in wholly-owned subsidiary Parex Colombia's Bogota office consists of three groups. Six lawyers are employed by the first and second groups, which separately supervise joint-venture contracts and com - mitments with government. A third group employs a team of seven, a mix of lawyers and negotiators who handle Colombian le- gal matters, litigation, local regulatory re- quirements and land acquisition. Her responsibilities for the Bogota legal office, including the development of train- ing programs, usually require her to travel to Colombia every quarter. However, Cor- bacho is currently training a member of the Parex Colombia legal team in Calgary, to increase her familiarity with commercial law and business development. She also represents an integral liaison be - tween Parex's Canadian head office and its Colombian subsidiary and is called in on weekly teleconferences involving both offices. "We discuss the hot topics of the week and try to take a collaborative approach to business to make joint decisions," she says. In Colombia, all oil exploration contracts are negotiated between the resource com - pany and the national government. Compa- nies such as Parex are granted surface rights Legal diplomat As in-house counsel for Parex Resources, Matilde Corbacho bridges the gap between countries, languages and legal traditions. BY PETER KENTER

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