With her dynamic energy and forward-thinking approach, Rita represents a new generation of legal leaders actively driving the industry’s reckoning with AI. 

Rita's journey to partnership reflects both academic excellence and practical experience across multiple jurisdictions. Her career began at Shearman and Sterling in New York before she moved to Panama, where she spent time at Arias, Fabrega & Fabrega before joining Alcogal in 2014. Rita was named Partner in 2022.

Rita adopted the Draftwise platform early on in her time at the firm, viewing it as an essential part of her practice. In June, she joined the first cohort adopting the latest agentic AI features. 

The Efficiency Revolution

For Rita, AI is a practical solution to one of the legal profession's most persistent challenges: maximizing billable efficiency. "There are only so many hours in a day, and we need to maximize and realize the work done by the lawyer."

Rita has found Draftwise particularly transformative for tasks that traditionally consume enormous amounts of junior lawyer time. "Coming up with the issues list is a pain, and it's usually an associate who has to sit there and go line by line," she notes. "That process takes hours on an already tight timeframe.”

The time savings are dramatic and measurable. "What would take me 90 to 120 minutes marking up the Letter of Intent took me 15 to 20 minutes with Draftwise," Rita explains, highlighting the tool's ability to compress hours-long tasks into minutes.

Rita emphasizes that Draftwise excels at surfacing issues that might otherwise be missed and delivering a more consistent, derisked product to clients. "Our associates and paralegals are consistently at capacity, and something like this is phenomenal. As soon as you change your mindset to 'this will allow you to do higher-quality work,' you'll get excited about it."

Changing the Game for Legal Practice

Rita sees AI as fundamentally changing the traditional hierarchy of legal work. Gone are the days when junior lawyers must endure years of tedious document review with the promise that they'll eventually "grow up and get to do less of the tedious work." Instead, AI allows lawyers at all levels to focus on higher-value work from the start.

But Draftwise benefits more than just associates. As the youngest partner at Alcogal, Rita is uniquely positioned to champion technological adoption. “I'm 39, the youngest partner here, and I try to use everything that is available to us.”

Rita's approach to change is refreshingly pragmatic: "We as lawyers are always up against the clock. We’re constantly searching for the best precedent and incorporating our client’s preferred language into the contract. Draftwise will flag issues you may have missed, help you redraft language that sounds clunky, and give you back time to support your clients better."

Rita expains "As a partner, if I get a last-minute client request, I might not bring in an associate because it could take longer to explain that just to do it myself —but if Draftwise can help you do it, you’ll get hours of your life back." 

This efficiency becomes even more critical in today's demanding legal environment. "There's more time pressure from clients and more pushbacks on fees," Rita observes. You could write it off, but putting in hours of work that are not billed is far from ideal."

The Competitive Edge

Having tested various AI tools, Rita has found Draftwise superior in its core competency. "It’s much better with legal language," she states simply.

This technological edge translates into real competitive advantages for individual lawyers and firms. For Rita, it means more time for strategic thinking, client development, and high-level legal work that truly drives value. For Alcogal, it represents a path toward more efficient operations and better client service.

The Future of Legal Practice

Rita de la Guardia embodies the future of legal leadership: She is technically savvy, efficiency-focused, and unafraid to challenge traditional ways of working. Her embrace of AI exemplifies how the industry is fundamentally reimagining how legal work gets done.

Through her partnership with Draftwise and advocacy for AI adoption, Rita is helping shape a future where lawyers can focus on what they do best: providing strategic counsel and creative solutions to complex legal challenges.

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