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00:00:01
E18 - Constanza Connolly, Co-founder Keidos Impacto Legal
56 Plays1 month ago
In this episode, Connie Connolly, impact lawyer, co-founder of Keidos Impacto Legal, and former president of the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL), shares how lawyers are key actors for change across Latin America and beyond. From pioneering social impact bonds in Buenos Aires to helping NGOs and SMEs tap into capital markets, Connie brings concrete examples of what’s possible even in challenging political and economic environments. She unpacks the role of legal innovation in shaping purpose-driven enterprises, and why strong, values-based governance is core to driving change. More than a lawyer, Connie is a movement-builder. Her passion shines through as she talks about teaching the next generation of impact lawyers and the systemic legal reforms needed to enable inclusive, sustainable economies. This episode shows how law is an essential part of driving finance as a force for good and how lawyers, when guided by impact, can help unlock transformational change.
Please review the episode, share your feedback, and subscribe to the podcast!
You can also:
- Visit our website: womenchangingfinance.org
- Read Connie's full bio
- Follow Connie on LinkedIn
To go further, here are some of the references mentioned during the episode:
- Keidos Impacto Legal: https://www.somoskeidos.com
- Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL): https://gailnet.org
- Sumatoria: https://www.fondo.sumatoria.org
- Pro Mujer: https://promujer.org
- UN Global Compact: https://www.unglobalcompact.org
- IDB (Inter-American Development Bank): https://www.iadb.org
- IFC (International Finance Corporation): https://www.ifc.org
- World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org
- Sistema B: https://www.sistemab.org/en
- Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship: https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/grunin-social-entrepreneurship
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown https://gregmckeown.com/books/essentialism/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Women Changing Finance
00:00:05
Speaker
Hi, welcome to the podcast Women Changing Finance, where you will discover amazing women from all around the world who are making finance become a force for good.
00:00:21
Speaker
Welcome to the podcast Women Changing Finance.
Meet Connie Connolly
00:00:24
Speaker
I'm Krisztina Tora and I'm welcoming today Connie Connolly, co-founder and director of Keidos Impacto Legal in Argentina and former president of GAIL, the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers.
00:00:36
Speaker
I met Constanza a few years ago in Buenos Aires and I really love her energy and passion for impact. So welcome, Constanza. Well, actually, so sometimes I will call you Connie or Constanza. I know you prefer Connie.
Impact Ecosystem in Argentina
00:00:50
Speaker
So as we start, it would be great to get a better understanding of the impact ecosystem as you see it in Argentina or even in Latin America, because I know you work a lot in Latin America as well.
00:01:01
Speaker
Well, thank you. Thank you, Krisztina. I'm really very happy to be here. Congratulations for the podcast. I think it's a great idea and we need more women talking about this. So amazing. I'm based in Argentina. As you said, I work in Argentina, but I'm also working in for Latin America.
00:01:18
Speaker
I remember when we met, it was the GSG event in 2018, so it's quite a long time ago. have been working for the the impact field since before that time.
00:01:29
Speaker
I would say that the impact ecosystem here in Argentina is continuing going in development in some way. I think that What has really been sustainable and going forward is related to sustainable finance. now Everything related to issuance of bonds or things like that was really because we have like, as you know, in Argentina, different political situation and the economical situation is also very confused.
00:01:56
Speaker
And we are like in a transition from one government to another. But this continues and this maintains, even though the government has changed. So I think that sustainable finance has been a great goal for us to continue being working related
Progress in Sustainable Finance
00:02:11
Speaker
to that.
00:02:11
Speaker
And regarding America Latina or Latin America, as you you would say, I think that as I'm part of GAIL, the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers, we work regionally.
00:02:23
Speaker
It has been also increased a lot, the things that have happened. I think that we have taxonomies here for impact. We have green taxonomy. We have sustainable financial issuance of bonds or whatever. So I think that there is a lot to be done.
00:02:40
Speaker
But I think that we are really working a lot in trying to make more impact in our future. That's really fantastic. Can you give me examples, perhaps, of this progress that you have seen?
00:02:52
Speaker
Yes, sure. I think that in Argentina, and i maybe i'm I'm focusing there, we have issues. It was like the moment that we met, it was like the first social impact bond that it was in the city of Buenos Aires. I think that it was a great goal for us.
00:03:06
Speaker
But also we have be increased a lot, as I mentioned before. And yesterday I received a message for an SME, a small SME that had issued, we call it a debt in the capital market.
00:03:23
Speaker
And it's a sustainable debt for the capital market. So I think that we have like specific ways that we have been issued bonds for NGOs from Pro Mujer. Has issued and has financed, we look for financed in the capital market by this instrument and also Sumatoria and others. So I think that comparing us with the region, even though we have like green bonds, sustainable bonds, et cetera, the way that NGOs or SMEs are going through the capital market in order to get finance to make impact is really amazing. So I think that that's a great difference between us and the region. I think that the region do not have yet NGOs or SMEs so small as SMEs going through the capital market.
Innovative Finance Structures
00:04:05
Speaker
So I think that, as I mentioned, earlier we have in Argentina like economical situation, as we always said with Maria Laura Tinelli, that is a friend of us, so whether is if we are not receiving investing, we are not going to receive impact investing.
00:04:20
Speaker
It's a matter of investing. It's not impact or not impact. So I think that that's our main issue here in order to start to so develop as a country. But even though that is going on and we are not like we have now the Rigi and some new regulations in order to attract investment in Argentina, we have going through these innovative ways of looking through sustainable finance, impact finance through the market and through different structures. The sustainable impact bond was really something ah very interesting in our country.
00:04:53
Speaker
And there is other blended finance structures that have been happening in our region also and in Argentina. So I think that we are working a lot and very hard in order to increase the impact in our region through the finance.
00:05:07
Speaker
Yeah, that's really amazing. And we don't hear about those examples enough,
Role in Gale and Impact Law
00:05:13
Speaker
right? Like it's quite unique indeed, like what you described where from here and Sumatoria and nonprofit organizations really leveraging the capital markets to get financed and to really expand how they are able to deliver their social and environmental impact.
00:05:31
Speaker
And that is unique opportunity to scale, to spread, to replicate ah those kinds of initiatives. Maybe you talked a little bit about those impact businesses.
00:05:43
Speaker
How do you see them accessing finance in other countries where, for example, this opportunity of bonds is not available? Yes, yes, of course. It's not easy to go through an impact bond.
00:05:55
Speaker
Regarding social impact bonds, we have a lot of examples in our region, Colombia, Mexico, Chile. ah So I think that regarding that kind of structure, yes, I think that is It's not so easy.
00:06:09
Speaker
There is, ah in our region in particular, a lot of support for multilaterals. There is IDB, the IFC, the World Bank. They are all collaborating and i'm giving. like We are making a structure, no? The IDB gives funds to the banks or the institutions.
00:06:25
Speaker
regulatory structures, and then they go through giving that money or these funds to SMEs or small structures. So I think that one way is that, and most of the situation of our of countries, now in our region in general,
00:06:41
Speaker
A lot have been fundraising through the multilaterals. Also the development of everything related to the regulation in our region, ah the support to have now guides for sustainable bonds or et cetera, and also different structures that green taxonomies, et cetera, has been paid and and support with technical assistance from the IDB, IFC, and these multilaterals. So I think there is a lot of support on that in order to give funds to get in but And at the same time, I think that there is a, and now there an issue now because most of them funds also come through the philanthropy, the venture philanthropy and the philanthropy funds.
00:07:22
Speaker
And now with the closing of USAID, it was really a great impact for our region because those structures also go through NGOs, really gives money and amounts for but businesses or small businesses.
00:07:35
Speaker
But at the same time, our region has developed a lot what is called like purpose-driving companies. We have a lot of those in our region. We have also regulated for these kinds of companies. It's called the Sociedad Beneficio Interes Colectivo.
00:07:50
Speaker
We have countries such as Panama, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia. I don't know if I'm missing some other country, but There are those countries have regulation for this kind of organization.
00:08:02
Speaker
So I think that other thing that has occurred in our region in particular, and there's a lot of investigation related to this, is that this development of this purpose-driven company that are making like impact, but in a way of sustainability, and how they are creating by rendering services or or selling products.
00:08:21
Speaker
So that is another way that I think that they have financing their sense.
Governance and Sustainability Challenges
00:08:26
Speaker
no and Another thing that also occurs is that most NGOs that are doing impact are also moving through this being a social enterprise. So we call it empresa social in our region. and So that is also when you are not having so much funds, you are trying to be creative. and And I think that NGOs moving through social enterprises is is something that really occur in our region.
00:08:50
Speaker
We do not have like, and I'm as a lawyer, no I'm always thinking about regulation and all that. We do not have like the best field of situation regarding regulation for development of these structures, but they are occurring. The law is always coming after what is going on. The events occur and then comes the law.
00:09:09
Speaker
Well, this is something that is occurring in our regions. Thanks. It's a great description and a very nice kind of bridge to my next question, because you are a lawyer.
00:09:21
Speaker
So you are thinking about how you can help from that perspective. So can you tell us about your work more concretely? What does a typical day look like as a lawyer? how do you work to help these businesses access the right kind of investments or generally speaking, use finance to create impact.
00:09:41
Speaker
Thank you. Yesterday, were I think, how is my day? Yesterday, I have like a conversation where one of the things that I have put myself as a purpose is trying to make more lawyers think this way.
00:09:53
Speaker
That's why we create, co-create with other scale, that is the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers. We define ourselves as impact lawyers. Impact lawyers for us is the legal professionals that are using the practice of law to have a positive impact on people and the planet.
00:10:10
Speaker
We are convinced that lawyers are really in a unique position to facilitate change know and to support all the movement in order to a more equitable system. I'm teaching at the university to lawyers about this.
00:10:25
Speaker
We have a ah discussion yesterday about the difference between compliance, ESG, pro bono, and impact law. I think that is not check the box, check the box. We really need to be, as we are talking, I make like the similarity of impact investing when you are talking about, course, return, et cetera, but impact is the main thing of the investment. Well, I think that lawyers is the same. Now we are talking about impact law. We are talking about lawyers, not tax-taking and complying with the law.
00:10:55
Speaker
We need to make impact projects. So my day is trying to teach and having more lawyers thinking on this way and change their lens. and um become impact lawyers.
00:11:06
Speaker
But at the same time, we co-founded Kiedos and Keidos is a consultancy legal firm because we believe also that lawyers in this impact economy cannot act their self alone and we need to be like more multidisciplinary. So Keidos for alliances, working with others, making projects with others. So I'm working a lot with people that are in finance.
00:11:33
Speaker
If we need to think together, structures, new structures, new ways of making finance more sustainable, more impactful, we really need to change our mindset. So I'm working with the a lot with this kind and working with NGOs. We have a non-for-profit specialization with social entrepreneurs.
00:11:53
Speaker
My day-by-day is trying to make more impact, trying to transform. I i say we have like a dream, not trying to transform really the world, but I think that My purpose is to transform lawyers, no?
00:12:06
Speaker
But because lawyers is not just that they are like in a unique position, as I mentioned before, but also they are like rendering services all the time. We are a confident of our clients, no? When you think about the lawyer, lawyer roswaana the people that is the confident of a family or whatever is the lawyer, no?
00:12:23
Speaker
And for organizations, it's also that way. Lawyers are really listening to the CEO. They are talking, no? They they they are giving advice all the time. So if we change lawyers to give advice, thinking more impactful, well, the CEOs, the people that are taking decisions are really going to consider this, no? And we are like also...
00:12:45
Speaker
in a unique position because we dialogue with all the markets, in some way. We dialogue with the NGOs, collaborating. We do a lot of pro bono related to that. We are also talking to companies and we are also talking to the government.
00:12:59
Speaker
We, in some way, lawyers are the people that make regulations. So if we can change the way we make regulation where we put important things, change the economic situation, not go to trying to make more equitable our world and also regarding climate change is really going to make a difference.
00:13:20
Speaker
And also when you go to the justice, you have judge the judges and the judges are lawyers. So we really need to teach them how to consider this because I'm i'm saying for many years until now, things are changing.
00:13:34
Speaker
We are like in the process of changing things and the judges are going to set what is going on. They are going to evaluate and they're going to touch whether the correct things are known. And we do not have everything regulated. So the judges should go thinking, well, what I'm going to put in the the first place, no? What are the things that I should really they consider when I make this decision.
00:14:01
Speaker
So I think there is a lot to be done in all the law field, since judges, regulators, and also the the people that are and lawyers that are advising day by day their clients, of course.
00:14:15
Speaker
Great. Thank you so much. Well done for creating Gail, definitely. Can you tell us about a few examples where either your work or the work that you did with Gail helped change something like a regulation or helped as structure a fund in a different way? Or can you explain to us like maybe a few examples?
00:14:38
Speaker
Yeah, sure. Well, through GAIL, of the things that we are doing a lot and in Latin America, we land to a mapping of the regulation. Because one of the things that is also occurring is that we do not know which are the regulations for the region.
00:14:53
Speaker
So regarding ESG, we have like the regulations for the E, for the S, and the G completely separate. And we need like to go through and understand what's going on in our
Transition to Impact Law
00:15:04
Speaker
region. So Gail is mapping all the time and making...
00:15:08
Speaker
knowledge, not sharing knowledge of information about this. We make also a report about blended finance. This report about blended finance was led by our current president, as is Michael Ryland.
00:15:20
Speaker
And what we've done there is like, well, let's And that's the purpose of Gail. We need to work all together and we need to have a global view because the learnings from one country can be used for other ones.
00:15:34
Speaker
And also not just the learning, not the mistakes. So what we did with Blended Finance Project that is available and you can look through Blended Finance, Gail, and it's going to find the report, is mapping what...
00:15:46
Speaker
what structures of blended finance have been used in other jurisdictions. We have been like the goals and the mistakes and these help us to learn together. No, I think that structures, we need to go out of the box when we think about structures, but these structures maybe have been used in other jurisdictions. So that's one of the purpose of of GAIL.
00:16:08
Speaker
Regarding regulation that we have changed, I think that most of the lawyers that are members of GAIL have worked a lot in changing the regulation, as I mentioned before, of Sociedad de Beneficio de Interes Colectivo.
00:16:21
Speaker
The team GAIL lawyers have been participating very, very actively in changing in Colombia, in Ecuador, and the all this jurisdiction, the the law, in order to allow purpose-driving companies not to have Sociedad de Beneficio Interes Colectivo.
00:16:37
Speaker
So these are, I think that is very important. Other thing that lawyers have been working is, for example, that I mentioned before with the stock market for NGOs, where lawyers in Argentina have been collaborating and with the changes of this regulation. One of the law from Barca Varela that I used to work before, they were one of the ones that really go through the armed initiative, the market, and trying to change that.
00:17:04
Speaker
and Sometimes it's like one word or one sentence in a regulation that does not allow that. when we use When we issue the first social impact bond here in Argentina, we also have like this consideration. not We need to change regulation.
00:17:20
Speaker
In this case, NGOs would not make ah be investors, social investors in the social impact bonds because they have a ah possibility of loss their exemption. Now there are tax exemptions.
00:17:31
Speaker
So we are all the time designing structures. We are thinking about the pros and the cons of the regulation that's going on and how we need to change. And sometimes regulation is really very difficult to change because we need to go through the Congress But sometimes, no.
Challenges for Women in Law
00:17:46
Speaker
We are always saying if we go through the local to the national, or maybe in the local field, you can change more easily silly things to make impact.
00:17:54
Speaker
That is not going through a big law through the Congress. So we need to be creative and innovative in this way in order to see what This is maybe going to be good for this, not so bad, but let's try to make it happen, not to make it happen. We need examples to motivate others and in order to so can be replicable. Because if we do not replicate these kinds of structures, is not going to but we are not going to have the impact that we are wondering.
00:18:23
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And one question that's on my mind is that often when we talk about, you know, sustainability and specifically ES&G, environment, social and governance, one of the things that many people who work in this space but realize is that Governance is very overlooked.
00:18:42
Speaker
And when I think about lawyers, I think about how we can improve that aspect. Can you share some thoughts or also maybe some examples? Yes, of course. And I have been working a lot in the G because I think that we are not going to have an E or a S if we do not have a good G.
00:18:58
Speaker
So nowadays we are having a project with UN Global Compact, Gail and UN Global Compact. We are collaborating as a knowledge partner and regarding this. The name is called transformational governance.
00:19:11
Speaker
We really need that the governance change. If we are not changing the way decisions are being taken, we are not going to make any difference. It's also SDG 16 when you think about peace, justice and and solid institutions. When you're talking about solid institutions, you're talking about organizations.
00:19:30
Speaker
And this is really related to governance. We make ah another paper with UN Global Compact Argentina in this case that is called Integridad Sostenible. It's like sustainable integrity.
00:19:44
Speaker
We believe that integrity and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. and This is a paper. We make a kind of course together with UN Global Compact Argentina.
00:19:55
Speaker
We made three editions and through the process of this edition, we launched it like this e-book. And this e-book is a practical e-book. How we need to transform this, how we need to have like this Analysis of risk, but also of impacts.
00:20:11
Speaker
How we talk about double materiality. Why it is important to consider the impacts that we are doing and how we handle with our decisions story those impacts. And this cannot be done if we are not like going through silos in the organization. We need to go more transversal, like more holistic way.
00:20:33
Speaker
So one of the main things is you need to have committees in your organizations that are members of the different, I don't know, maybe the people about they finance, the people that are working in the organization, legal matters, procurement. Procurement is an amazing field where impact can be developed.
00:20:53
Speaker
So I think that governance is really the key to make the change, no? In that way, I think that lawyers, as I mentioned before, we are in the boardroom, no? We are with the board of directors most of the time. We are like ah giving advice over there. But when they take the decisions, when they adopt decisions, they have to analyze this double materiality. So we are talking a lot to this you know the in Argentina for the companies that are member of UN n Global Compact.
00:21:21
Speaker
but also from UN Global Compact, the global, together with this team of transformational governance, we are working a lot because we really believe and I'm confident that we need to have a good governance.
00:21:35
Speaker
Otherwise, we are not going to be able to handle social impact or environmental impact. Absolutely agree. And I like this idea of having transversal committees in businesses.
00:21:47
Speaker
Any other, I don't know, concrete advice for businesses or organizations to improve their governance? so Top three tips from ah an impact lawyer.
00:21:59
Speaker
i may like that. The top three, I would say that the first one is to so really have like this committee because you really need to have like this. different vision and decisions are really in all the areas of the company. Because most of the time when you're talking about impact, we know that there is ah a great development of chief impact officers, but this is not so much occurring in our region.
00:22:23
Speaker
So now you have like organizations that have the impact officer or sustainability officer or whatever, but this is not embedded in the organization. no You need to change the culture.
00:22:34
Speaker
So I think that it's really necessary to set from the top, reality from the top, what's going on. And that's the idea of changing culture to be more sustainable.
00:22:45
Speaker
So I think that the main thing is really in invest sustainability in the decisions of the boardroom, make these kinds of committees where you are going to work all the areas of the company through the same purpose.
00:22:58
Speaker
and Another thing that I would say is to really make like this matrix, how do you say this matrix of of risk, but also of impacts. Because most of the time, and lawyers are already like the compliance officers.
00:23:11
Speaker
And compliance officers say, I'm complying with the law, check the box. That's it. But it's not what we are talking about. No, it's not just taking the box. We need to make an impact. We need to make transformation. And for that transformation, it is important to really work in another way.
00:23:27
Speaker
No. So I would say that if you make like this analysis of your research, your impacts, And also opportunities, no? europe The European Europe, when they are launching the CSRD and CSDPLD, they are talking about EROs, impact, risk, and opportunities.
00:23:42
Speaker
So I think if we make like this analysis, no and the government is clear that the one that should make it of the impact of the risk, you are going to find a lot of opportunity of investing, of impact, of whatever, of businesses.
00:23:56
Speaker
But we are not making like this analysis, no? And also one of the things that I come to my mind now is like when you're talking about governance or corporate governance, this is completely different.
00:24:07
Speaker
The structure that you are having your governance, if you're a big company or you're a small company or you're family organization. not And most of the SMEs in Latin America that are really the engine of their economy in our region SMEs and our family organizations.
00:24:23
Speaker
So when we talk to the family that have it, well, family organizations should also go through this kind of governance, no? Most of the time SMEs in our region, I say all the time, um going through the urgent matters.
00:24:38
Speaker
that are responding to that, but not responding to the important matters. So I think that it's really very important to so advise these boards, advise the CEOs of any kind of organization. It's completely different in the way that they are going to structure the governance, but even the structure they have, like lots of committee, the family board or whatever, you need to go through impact and sustainability at the heart of these organizations, of each organization.
00:25:07
Speaker
Brilliant. Thank you so much. And perhaps a question that some of the auditors might think about. but you feel that sometimes the law or the regulations are in contradiction with social change and how you might navigate that?
00:25:26
Speaker
Yes, I think that many times they are in contradiction. The way that we should navigate this is trying to change regulation. But I mentioned before, it's it's not so easy. There are some countries, I don't know, Brazil, for example, that is have like a project in impacto and they are changing a lot of regulation because they want to so make this impact.
00:25:45
Speaker
But I think that most of the time the regulation has contradiction. One law has contradiction with other We are not thinking like in an holistic way when we are thinking about regulation and and making impact. So how we navigate this, we're trying to be innovative and trying to so find some pathway where we can go through this way or the other to try to make impact.
Reflections and Future Goals
00:26:08
Speaker
I think that there is a lot, a lot to be done. And most of the regulation, because in general, Latin America has a very good regulation related to environment environments. not The E is like, I think that it's full. We can check the box. There are many things.
00:26:23
Speaker
There's things to be done, of course, but there is a lot that have been related. But the S, I think that have been abandoned many times. So I think that for the social matters, there is a lot of things to be done regarding regulation in order to make inclusive business and changes.
00:26:40
Speaker
So I think that I would love to have like an omnibus law that can take everything necessary to have this, but it's it's really not easy. Most of the time in Argentina, for example, the tax extractors are real expensive when we are trying to do business in any kinds of funds or whatever.
00:26:59
Speaker
So I think that there is a lot of challenges in order to go through this. It's not easy, but I'm sure that they are in contradiction many, many times, the law of what is going on. Yes.
00:27:10
Speaker
I like the what you're saying about the need to be more holistic when we talk about these topics and when we look about how we can change regulation, not just changing one law, but looking at how it relates to other aspects Fantastic.
00:27:26
Speaker
I want to learn more also about you. i love your vision about having all lawyers become impact lawyers and the importance of that. What is your journey? How did you arrive here? What were any milestones that draw you towards impact finance?
00:27:42
Speaker
Well, excellent journey because I have been a lawyer for more than 25 years, more or less. I started my career in big law firms in Argentina.
00:27:55
Speaker
And I think that I was like a corporate lawyer, a traditional corporate lawyer. now That is where always in transaction business. M&A is giving money from one company to the other and structuring.
00:28:06
Speaker
But I was like empty. It's just like, this is what I want, make money for others or collaborating in making just money. And then I started to work in one of the law firms that I worked. There was a lot of pro bono work.
00:28:21
Speaker
So I started to work with Pro Bono because I love NGOs and I love Impact. But I have like my life in two parallels. One was a corporate lawyer and that was the Pro Bono and they cannot switch.
00:28:31
Speaker
No, they cannot make a ah coincidence. I was like completely... i And then in 2013, I think that it was more or less the B Corp movement starting in our region.
00:28:44
Speaker
Sistema B is in Latin America. And we met Pedro Tarac and other people from Sistema B. And they explained about this kind of doing business in another way.
00:28:55
Speaker
And I said, well, this is the way. This is like the marriage. I am going to marriage pro bono and my corporate law, I'm going to put it over there. And we started to develop like Sociedad Beneficial Interes Colectivo Bill of Law for Argentina.
00:29:09
Speaker
And we started to make this movement and we started to collaborate with other lawyers of other jurisdictions. And we created what is called what is whats called the b Be Lawyers Movement.
00:29:21
Speaker
And we are like be lawyers and that in Latin America. And then I met ESELA. ESELA was the European Social Entrepreneurship. No, I don't remember the words.
00:29:32
Speaker
This was like the European way of doing these matters. And then they invited me to go to the board because they want to make it more global. And then I started to contact with the Grunin Center and all the American people and the Bora Buran and all of them that are working a lot of impact investing. And I was like saying I'm going to leave law behind.
00:29:53
Speaker
But when I find out all this, I said, well, this is the way that I can make a difference. Now, this is the way that I can try to go through my profession and and make an impact. No.
00:30:04
Speaker
And I started to work very hard on that. And and there, when you're looking and you're passionate about this, I think that things go, no? And it goes well. And and you met people as you, Krisztina.
00:30:18
Speaker
And you you really identified as the same. Because you have like, it's not how I say it in English. It's like the same vibra, the same way of thinking, no? The same way of thinking of how things should be done.
00:30:31
Speaker
And for me, becoming like an impact lawyer, for knowing these other lawyers around the world that are for thinking as I was thinking was really a change in my life. Because I find, I say sometimes like my tribu, my community, where I don't have to explain everything that I'm saying. Because when I go to other spaces, I have to explain what we are thinking about this. this, this, this, that we were doing.
00:30:54
Speaker
And he says, no, we are doing the same journey. And it was amazing to find out that the journey that I had in Argentina was the same. had Roberto Randazzo in Italy that you know him or Emiliano Giovine or Julie Wine and others and says, you are in Switzerland, you're in Italy, I'm in Argentina, but we are the same.
00:31:10
Speaker
having the same term we are saying the same things we are facing the same challenges in order to make things different so I get in love again with law when I find out this you know when I found out impact and then it was at the same time that the SDG goals were launched and then DSG also was like developed so I think that's Everything was created at the same time because the world was changing and I had the opportunity and really thankful, very, very thankful of being at that moment in that place.
00:31:43
Speaker
so Because I really find out a lot of people that are facing the same strategies and I really want to make things different. Yeah. I think that's my journey. And since I and fall in love with this law, I say, well, I have to bring other lawyers. And that's why we match and we merge the B lawyers with Esela and people of the U.S. and all around the world. And we make the Global Alliance of imp Impact Lawyers. That is very, very new because it's our third year.
00:32:13
Speaker
But I think that is really very impactful. It's a lot that we can be done through this organization to the world. Absolutely. And I love the journey and love the idea of of Gail and and so much opportunity, so much potential now that can happen.
00:32:29
Speaker
This is also the opportunity for you to reflect on achievements. So this is your space. Tell us about things that you're proud of having achieved or maybe things that you want to achieve in the future. Yeah.
00:32:43
Speaker
When you're all the time like making strategy of decisions, no I think that a great achievement for myself is that I have the courage to go out of a big law firm.
00:32:54
Speaker
I was in a very comfortable organization. i really have a lot to thank to that organization. It's an excellent organization. it says I have to go through my ideas more deeply.
00:33:06
Speaker
know So I think that my great achievement is to make that jump, to get out and to take risks. It's not easy. I become an entrepreneur when I was 43 and everything has to start and be developed new. And of course that in Alliance and working with others, but I was like in a very, going through the comfortable zone is really yeah a challenge.
00:33:29
Speaker
And I think that that is my great achieve. Since that moment, when I talk to people and said, you're so passionate about what you are doing, that everything's going to go well. And I think that that happened. Everything goes well because When you put your heart on what you are doing and you really believe in what you are doing, you can really make the difference. So I would say that that is my big achievement on my own.
00:33:51
Speaker
And for Keidos one of the achievements was that we developed a course for, to call it the International Program of Impact Law, and that program was finalist for the Grunem Prize.
00:34:04
Speaker
and The Green Brass is really a very prestigious recognition. And having like this education program, being a finalist over there, was really like when we said you are touching the the sky with your hands. now It's really amazing. So I think that was really a great achievement that was last year. And one of the things that now I would like to achieve and to change, and we have a discussion the other day with one of the rankings, is to change the way lawyers are also being ranked.
00:34:35
Speaker
When you make the ranking, you are corporate lawyers, you are compliance lawyers, you are environmental lawyers. But there are other categories that are not in Latin America yet, but are in Europe, like not-for-profit or business law sustainability or ESG practice that are practice that we are doing here with KEIDOS.
00:34:55
Speaker
And I would really love to make like this. change, not to become the first organization that in the ranking is not in a traditional way of ranking lawyers, but in another way of ranking lawyers.
00:35:09
Speaker
We are thinking about lawyers that are making business sustainability law. That's like what I would like. We are like trying to change the way things are doing. Yesterday when I had this conversation that I mentioned before,
00:35:22
Speaker
we were talking about impact law. um What is impact law? We are developing the notion of impact law. and So I think that that is really attractive and super enthusiastic, but it's also a risk. You're trying to develop something.
00:35:36
Speaker
I don't know what is going to occur in a few years, but we are like completely confident and ensure that we should go through this path.
00:35:47
Speaker
And impact law should be the way that lawyers do impact, to have their practice of law. So I think that they're like my achievement on on the things that have on achievement that that I'm thinking. And on my personal side, my achievement are my kids, my three boys, that is the ones that make me the more wonderful mother, happy mother in the world. I think that being a mother is the best thing that happened to me.
00:36:14
Speaker
So of course, like going out of professional issues, like being a mother and my great achievement in my family, for sure. I think that's the main goal. That's beautiful.
00:36:25
Speaker
Which actually is... Kind of a nice bridge as well to my next question, which is a question I ask all my guests. How do you feel being a woman doing this job?
00:36:37
Speaker
It's not easy. not easy at all. And, and I'm like in the, in not in this generation of women. No, I, when I was a woman and I was in big law firms, being a woman was really very, very difficult.
00:36:50
Speaker
I think that are difficult now, but I've changed in and they're more flexible. But I have a ah boss that says women are amazing, but they get pregnant. My God.
00:37:01
Speaker
And I was looking for a baby and my dream was being a mother. So I was saying how I can become a mother here is they're saying that I'm a good lawyer, but I'm a woman. I'm not going to be pregnant. And when you're pregnant, that's it.
00:37:13
Speaker
And then I go to other law firms. So all the time, like big law firms in Argentina. And when you say when I would like to work in my home sometimes because I have baby and I travel, i have two hours when going and when to come in back.
00:37:26
Speaker
in transportation in order which to get to the job. said, well, women are staying at home. And I was working a lot at my house. I was not staying at home. And then the pandemia comes and everyone said, it's amazing working at home.
00:37:39
Speaker
No, but it was really ah huge price for me in that organization because when you were not there all the time, becoming a partner or becoming was really a very hard journey for women.
00:37:52
Speaker
And I think there is a lot to be done here because but in Argentina, in the law firm that I was, another there are much more women, of course, partners now, but there is a lot, a lot to be done.
00:38:03
Speaker
And sometimes having like this, trying to go through this equilibrium of being a mother and being a lawyer and and being passionate about both because you like what you are doing, but I'm not going to lose any act of my kids.
00:38:16
Speaker
I'm not going to lose, you know, that at the moments that are unique. They're not going to come back. So I think that is it's really a challenge. For me, it was really very, very difficult.
00:38:27
Speaker
I was happy so trying to try to change some or go through some barriers for other lawyers that are younger. But when I was a lawyer, they said, I would not like to be a lawyer as this woman.
00:38:40
Speaker
She's missing everything because she's here twenty four seven And that's what I tried to do when I became a lawyer. said, this is the way I'm going to be a lawyer because I want to be a mother. um But it was ah a great price for me to pay.
00:38:53
Speaker
That's why I think that at the end I go on my own. And I said, well, this is the way I would like to do things. I want to make it with more freedom and also with others that think as as I think.
00:39:05
Speaker
And we can match together and do things in another way. But it's not easy. So I would say to all the women that are listening that keep on fighting. Of course, no, we need to make the difference.
00:39:17
Speaker
We need to get together. We need to make and be women as women, because most of the time in law firms, what happens is that women became men. No, the way they take the decision and when they get into the power, they would switch and think as men and not as a woman.
00:39:34
Speaker
So I think that we have to always be we are. It's our essence. I have a boss that when I was very, very young and I started my first job that it says, you are going to have a lot of success and a lot of failure in your journey.
00:39:49
Speaker
But you never, my advice is you never change what you are now. You never change your essence because this is what you are. You're not going to be more because of anything. You are going to be Connie, the Connie of the 20 that was over there and the Connie of 45 that is 48, sorry, right now.
00:40:07
Speaker
So you have to maintain being the same person, not the same way of thinking and and defend your principles and all that. So for the women, don't change. Things are going to come.
00:40:18
Speaker
continue working, passionate. We have to fight a lot. Yes, of course. There's a lot to be done. Yes, of course. But we are a lot and we are together. So go through and try to match with other women that are really making the difference.
00:40:32
Speaker
That's really beautiful. I love it. Thank you. So we are approaching the end of the episode. I have three quick questions for you. Who or what is inspiring you? Who or what is inspiring me now?
00:40:45
Speaker
But I have a lawyer that is based in UK and I would mention him, Luke Fletcher, because I said it to him. I think that you know him from Bates Wells. That he, when I met him in 2017, I think that it was, and he talked about Bates and how they are doing things and and the the way that they are doing things. And I say, I would like to be like him. I would like to be as Bates Wells.
00:41:08
Speaker
What if I have a Cados at Bates Wells of Argentina? And I think that she really inspired me of of the way that they are doing things. And for me, he was really a ah very important person because he really trusts me.
00:41:20
Speaker
And he was the person that invited me to go to Estela. He was the person that pushed me to go as vice president and then president of GAIN. He's pretty tight. He's an English people, so his short words, but strategic words, he really inspires me.
00:41:35
Speaker
And I really... I'm very grateful for what he has done to me because maybe in a silent way, but with actions, no? When you make the difference, not by saying, but doing. And he do a lot of things for me and brings me a lot of opportunities.
00:41:50
Speaker
in order to find out how an impact lawyer can be. That's a great illustration. Thank you. And I'm sure he will be very happy to be featured here. What is keeping you optimistic?
00:42:01
Speaker
My kids. I need to change the world for them. I'm thinking all the time because we need to have a better world. I'm going to leave the Everyone's going to leave this world. But I have kids and I really...
00:42:12
Speaker
needs to make the difference. So I'm going to continue fighting and trying to change whatever is necessary to have a better place for them. Beautiful. Are you reading anything that you would recommend? Oh, yes. And I make a post today.
00:42:25
Speaker
i read a book that I have it on here because it's essentialism. I don't know if you're really about it. And I think that is really very important. And it's make a great impact on me in the discipline pursuit of less, no?
00:42:39
Speaker
Do less, but better. And that's what you are doing now, to trying to... It's very difficult for me to say no all the time. Not women, in general women. I'm not going to say no.
00:42:50
Speaker
And this is really the thing is it is not an a great yes and you're not sure about this. It's a no. So let it go. no It's very difficult for me most of the time to let things go and you want to be multitasking and do um a lot of things.
00:43:05
Speaker
I would recommend this book because it made me think about what really matters no and go through what really matters because the time is really precious that we have, but we are losing time. We're doing things that are not really important because you have the same time to do everything.
00:43:23
Speaker
So I would recommend this lecture. I think that is amazing. A great book. And I'm adding it to my list. Do you have any final thoughts or recommendations for the audience or maybe an ask from the listeners?
00:43:35
Speaker
Yes, an ask would be like to continue, now to really continue doing what you are doing. If you are listening to the postcard, you are interested in this thing. So continue ah learning, continue connecting, continue working, find people, as I mentioned before, that inspire And you are going to go through your path with really trust.
00:43:56
Speaker
and being confident of what you are doing. I think that have like inspirational persons and to have like people that would think like you, but also don't think like you, but also that they are in the same idea. No, I think that is 48 now. And I'm always thinking that I would like to go to spaces where I have like conversations that are really worth, that are really important.
00:44:22
Speaker
that we are thinking about how we can make change together. And the space that we share, Krisztina is really that kind of space, where we are trying to think to make things better. So I would say to the audience to continue.
00:44:36
Speaker
So stop. Perfect ending. Thank you so much, Connie. It has been such a pleasure to have you on the show today. i really enjoyed this conversation with so many beautiful insights from you. Thank you so much.
00:44:49
Speaker
thank you Krisztina. Thank you, Thank you. Very, very here.
00:44:57
Speaker
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00:45:08
Speaker
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00:45:20
Speaker
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