As co-general counsel at TelevisaUnivision, Veronica Rodriguez believes AI's real value isn't speed—it's scaling human judgment while managing risk.
Julie Colwell
Principal Strategist
Workday
Veronica Rodriguez joined TelevisaUnivision to execute the historic merger between two media giants. As executive vice president and co-general counsel, she now oversees the legal integration of a massive, cross-border content library and complex regulatory landscape. Rodriguez explains why she views AI as an operational necessity rather than a science project, how she establishes boundaries for data privacy, and why the goal of legal technology is to scale human judgment, not replace it.
Guide
You spent 17 years in private practice working on M&A and capital markets before moving in-house. How did that background shape your approach to the Televisa and Univision merger?
Veronica Rodriguez: I was in private practice at firms like Paul Hastings and Dewey & LeBoeuf, primarily focused on M&A and leveraged finance. I joined the company about four years ago specifically to spearhead the closing of the business combination between Grupo Televisa and Univision.
Coming from that transactional background, I was used to high intensity. But helping lead a company through a transformation of this magnitude is different. We operate in a complex, heavily regulated environment. It wasn't just about the deal, it was about the operational reality that followed. We realized we needed enterprise systems that functioned across international borders. Our contracts are high volume, multilingual, and highly negotiated. That experience made it clear that we needed technology that helps us change how work gets done.
We realized we needed enterprise systems that functioned across international borders. Our contracts are high volume, multilingual, and highly negotiated.
You've said that you view AI as an operating advantage rather than a solution for speed. What do you mean by that?
Rodriguez: To me, the value of AI isn't speed. I think I'm fast enough already. The real value is consistency and judgment at scale. It's about freeing up leaders in my department to focus on the decisions that humans should be making.
To me, the value of AI isn't speed. I think I'm fast enough already. The real value is consistency and judgment at scale.
We look at it holistically. AI works best when it's embedded into workflows that teams already trust, rather than being bolted on as a separate tool. It allows us to scale insight without scaling risk.
When you deployed a new solution to manage that volume, what specific challenges were you trying to solve?
Rodriguez: We needed a centralized institutional knowledge database. We wanted to reduce dependency on the memory of individual lawyers and surface key terms quickly. Workday Contract Intelligence has been helpful in organizing workflows for renewals and termination rights, and identifying change of control provisions. It enables the legal and finance departments to respond much faster to audit or commercial requests.
But we also learned a hard lesson: AI doesn't fix messy input. It exposes it. If you have bad data, the tool just reflects that back to you. It forced us to look at our data hygiene because human review is still a requirement. The biggest win wasn't having AI draft for us, it was finding answers we already had.
The biggest win wasn't having AI draft for us, it was finding answers we already had.
Given the sensitive nature of media rights and content, how do you define the "human in the loop" at TelevisaUnivision?
Rodriguez: Governance and trust are critical. We have established strict decision authority guardrails. The general rule is that there cannot be autonomous decision-making on greenlighting content, talent contracting, pricing, ad inventory allocation, carriage terms, or regulatory compliance determinations. AI can recommend, summarize, or flag, but a human must be the final approval.
We also have data boundary guardrails. We prohibit AI access to non-public deal economics, carriage deals, sports rights, M&A deals, and sensitive advertiser data. We want to prevent leakage and regulatory exposure. AI informs decisions, but it never replaces accountability.
You've argued that Legal shouldn't be the sole owner of AI governance. How does that work in practice?
Rodriguez: Governance cannot just live in the legal function, or we become a gate instead of an enabler. AI risk is operational, not just legal. By the time Legal sees a problem, the operational damage may already be done.
I believe Legal should shape the rules, but the business functions must own the execution. We need a shared accountability model. We have distributed ownership across the enterprise that works like this:
We set the frame, but the business needs to run the systems.
You've argued that Legal shouldn't be the sole owner of AI governance. How does that work in practice?
Rodriguez: Governance cannot just live in the legal function, or we become a gate instead of an enabler. AI risk is operational, not just legal. By the time Legal sees a problem, the operational damage may already be done.
I believe Legal should shape the rules, but the business functions must own the execution. We need a shared accountability model. We have distributed ownership across the enterprise that works like this:
We set the frame, but the business needs to run the systems.
The most valuable lawyers are not the ones who know the most rules—they're the ones who exercise the best judgment at scale.
Does working with these tools require your lawyers to develop new skills?
Rodriguez: I don't think it requires new skills, but it does require a level of clarity that a good lawyer should have anyway. AI punishes ambiguity. If you frame a question poorly to AI, you'll get the wrong answer.
You still need to be a good lawyer. You need to know when to trust the tool and when not to, and you need to understand the nuances and limitations of the outputs. You can't just accept every recommendation it spits out. AI will produce a bunch of options, but a human needs to choose and understand the consequences.
The most valuable lawyers are not the ones who know the most rules—they're the ones who exercise the best judgment at scale. That hasn't changed. If anything, AI has just raised the bar on what good legal judgment looks like.
Where do you see the legal function heading in the next few years?
Rodriguez: I see legal departments moving upstream. We'll spend less time on first drafts and information retrieval, and sit earlier in design and commercial strategy discussions.
AI won't change why legal departments exist, but it will change how we deliver value. It allows us to be more strategic and scalable. The biggest shift isn't job loss—it's role elevation. It's about spending less time on repetitive work and more time on strategy and judgment.
Guide
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